UPDATE: 4:25 p.m. Saturday, Dec 28

Donations have flooded in for the Christmas 2.0 celebration, but more are still needed. For a complete list of what is needed, as well as how you can help out, click

UPDATE: 9:25 p.m. Friday, Dec 27

Families affected by the fire are invited for a Christmas 2.0 celebration featuring dinner from Shannon's Home Cooking at the Little Lake Chapel on Sunday from 5-7 p.m.

Gifts can be dropped off at Dis n' Dat on M-35.

Items in need are toilet paper, dish and laundry soap, gift cards for food and home cleaning supplies.

UPDATE: 5:06 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27

Strong flames from Friday morning's apartment building fire in Little Lake are out.

But now, all nine people who safely escaped the five-unit building are trying to move forward after losing everything.

"My dad just came running into the house,” said Faith Smith, one of the people who lived at Little Lake apartments.

Faith's dad was yelling at her to wake up and get out because their building was on fire.

"I didn't even grab shoes. I just ended up calling a friend that worked at Vinnie's [St. Vincent De Paul] like ‘hey, what size are you?’ I need a pair of socks and shoes,” she explained.

Smith escaped the fire safely with her two boys and grandchild. But now, her family is homeless after their Little Lake apartment unit completely burned to the ground Friday morning.

"When you hear of it happening to other people, you don't realize exactly what happens,” said Smith.

Rescue workers say all nine people inside the building made it out safely. But the cause of fire is still under investigation.

"It took us about six and a half, seven hours to put out. We had the aerial from Marquette Township come which was a big help,” said Forsyth Township Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief, Jeff Milner.

As emergency crews worked to clean the mess, surrounding communities stepped in to help victims affected by this fire.

Shannon Greathouse opened her restaurant in Forsyth Township for victims to receive a free meal.

She also organized drop-off donations at her Dis 'n' Dat store.

"We're a pretty close knit community, and we are trying to rebuild it together. Everyone has helped me out tremendously with my own family,” explained Greathouse.

Community members are working to find housing for the nine victims.

They're also planning something special this Sunday and calling it a Christmas "do-over” for people who lost everything, like Smith.

No location or time has been set for that event yet. TV6 & FOX UP will provide those details as they are made available to us.

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UPDATE: 1:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27

As of 1:30 p.m., the Michigan State Police say M-35 has been reopened to normal traffic.

TV6 & FOX UP will have more on this story on your TV6 & FOX UP newscasts Friday evening.

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ORIGINAL STORY:

Multiple fire departments are battling a fire at a Little Lake apartment building Friday morning.

Crews at the scene tell TV6 & FOX UP that everyone got out safely from the fire at 1687 E M-35, but as of 7:45 a.m. strong flames are still coming from the structure. This five-unit apartment building is next to Brown's Store, by the intersection of M-35 and Marquette County Road 456.

Firefighters from Forsyth Township, Richmond Township, Sands Township and Chocolay Township are among the crews on the scene, along with Forsyth Township Police and Marquette County Rescue. More departments have been paged to provide mutual aid and additional equipment.

As of 9:30 a.m., the Michigan State Police say M-35 is shut down and will remain closed until the fire is extinguished. Traffic will be re-routed by personnel at the scene.

This story will be updated as more information is available.