Upper Peninsula Ex-Fire Official Pleads to Arson

A former assistant fire chief in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has pleaded guilty to an arson charge.

Chippewa County Prosecutor Brian Peppler tells The Evening News ex-Hulbert Assistant Fire Chief Michael Kik offered the plea last month to one count of arson of woods and prairies.

Peppler says Kik acknowledged having set fires when he was first at the scene.

Kik was arrested in October on nine felony counts of arson following an investigation conducted by the Chippewa County sheriff’s office, the U.S. Forest Service and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

A sentencing date hasn’t been set.

Kik faces up to four years in prison.