Outback fire

Date reported: April 23, 2024, 8:00PM

Location:   4 Miles west of Hermosa

Resources: State / Local

Size: 0.1 acres    

Cause: Unknown

Status: Controlled

Prescribed Burn at Custer State Park set for April 24

Rapid City, S.D. – South Dakota Wildland Fire is planning a prescribed burn in coordination with Custer State Park on Wednesday April 24, 2024, in the northwestern quarter of the park. The burn area is about 2 miles north of the Park Visitor Center and is not accessible via paved roads. Mop-up and monitoring will continue in the following days. If weather conditions are not favorable Wednesday, the burn will be rescheduled.

 Firefighters plan to burn 44 acres in a bowl shaped, relatively open meadow containing some Ponderosa Pine trees and surrounded by timbered hillsides. This area within CSP is known as Round Park.

Prescribed burn treatments are carefully planned. Some key objectives in this treatment include promoting prairie/rangeland restoration, reducing pine encroachment, removing most of the thatch layer thereby enhancing growth of native warm season grasses, and hindering growth of invasive cool season grasses. 

 Fire also reduces hazardous debris and dead vegetation buildup, which can fuel wildfires.

 If you see smoke in the air above this area or surrounding areas on the 24^th, please be aware this is a planned event.

Fire crews will secure, patrol, and monitor fire lines as appropriate for public and firefighter safety.

 Custer State Park will be open as usual, but visitors should expect delays near the prescribed burn area. For more information about park accessibility please contact the park at 605.394.2693.

 

Prescribed Fire planned for Northern Black Hills

April 24, 2024 Update: Beartown prescribed fire cancelled today, 4/24/24. We will keep you posted on any further updates.

Spearfish S.D., April 23, 2024 – The Northern Hills Ranger District on the Black Hills National Forest is planning to conduct the Beartown and/or Short Draw prescribed fire project April 24, 2024, as weather conditions permit. The Beartown project area is located 1 mile north of Iron Creek Lake off Tinton Road (Forest System Road 134) and the Short Draw project area is located approximately 6 miles south of Cheyenne Crossing, SD.

The objectives of these prescribed fires are to reduce hazardous fuels that may contribute to unwanted wildfires that could make suppression efforts difficult to control during the summer months. Prescribed fires are also used in multiple existing meadows to rejuvenate grasses, forbs, and shrubs, while also benefiting grazing for big game, as well as cattle, while reestablishing meadow boundaries by reducing pine, and spruce encroachment.

Forest visitors and hunters are asked to avoid these areas during implementation. Smoke from the prescribed burn will be visible throughout the day of the burn and may linger for several days. Firefighters will be on site throughout the day of ignition and will periodically patrol the burns for several days afterward. If you see smoke from this burn, please do not call 911.

“By implementing prescribed fire in a low-intensity, controlled way, we use strategic and planned fire to improve the health of the forest,” said Chris Zoller, Northen Hills Fire Management Officer, Black Hills National Forest. “Reducing fuel loads and ladder fuels from our forested landscape helps minimize the threat of unwanted wildfire.”

Prescribed fire specialists compare current and predicted environmental conditions to those outlined in burn plans before deciding whether to burn on a given day. Burn plans include 21 separate elements including Goals & Objectives, Prescription (weather and fire behavior), Holding plans, and Contingency planning. A prescribed burn will not be ignited unless the conditions meet the criteria described in the burn plan.

For more information on the Black Hills National Forest, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/blackhills.

 

  Schenk Prescribed Fire planned for Southern Black Hills

 

Custer S.D., Apr. 22, 2024 – The Hell Canyon Ranger District on the Black Hills National Forest, in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) South Dakota Field Office, two private landowners, and South Dakota Wildland Fire are planning to conduct the Schenk prescribed fire project April 23-24, 2024, weather, and conditions dependent. 

 

The Schenk project area is located approximately 5 miles southwest of Jewel Cave National Monument. It contains a total of 2,355 acres broken into four units. Ownership includes 168 acres of BLM administered lands, 1,457 acres of National Forest System lands, and 730 acres of private land. 

 

The objectives of this prescribed fire are to reduce hazardous fuels accumulations that could make wildfire suppression efforts difficult to control during the summer months. Also, to remove insect-weakened trees and minimize the risk of unwanted wildfire across the landscape. Prescribed fire is also used in meadows to rejuvenate grasses, forbs, and shrubs, to benefit grazing, while reestablishing meadow boundaries by reducing pine, and juniper encroachment. 

 

“Prescribed fires can mimic the benefits of wildfires by reducing fuels on the ground and lowering the risks associated with larger, uncontrolled fires,” said Todd Hoover, Hell Canyon Fire Management Officer, Black Hills National Forest. “It makes sense to work closely with our interagency partners and adjacent landowners to make the largest impact on the landscape.”

 

Forest visitors and hunters are asked to avoid the area during this time. Smoke from the prescribed burn will be visible throughout the day of the burn and may linger for several days. Firefighters will be on site throughout the days of ignition and will periodically patrol the burn for several days afterward. If you see smoke from this burn, please refrain from calling 911.

 

Prescribed fire specialists compare current and predicted environmental conditions to those outlined in burn plans before deciding whether to burn on a given day. Burn plans include 21 separate elements including Goals & Objectives, Prescription (weather and fire behavior), Holding plans, and Contingency planning. A prescribed fire will not be ignited unless the conditions meet the criteria described in the burn plan.

 

For updates before, during, and after prescribed burning operations, you can follow the BLM on Facebook at Bureau of Land Management – Montana/Dakotas or on Twitter @BLM_MTDKs. Information on the prescribed burn will also be located on the Great Plains Fire Information blogspot at https://gpfireinfo.blogspot.com/

 

For more information on the Black Hills National Forest, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/blackhills.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Hazel fire

Date reported: April 20, 2024, 1249 hours

Location:   5 miles SW of Blackhawk

Resources: Fed / State / Local

Size: 1.7 acres    

Cause: Unknown

Status: Contained

 

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Kerry fire

Date reported: April 18, 2024, 1544 hours

Location:   2 1/2 miles SW of Rapid City off Sheridan Lake Road

Resources: Fed / State / Local

Size: .1 acres    

Cause: Human

Status: Controlled

Exit 23 fire

Date reported: April 18, 2024, 1322 hours

Location: 1 Mile North of Whitewood

Resources: Federal / State / Local

Size: .1 acres    

Cause: Human

Status: Controlled

April 15, 2024

 

April 15, 2024

Johnson fire

Date reported: April 15, 2024, 1451 hours

Location: 10 miles North of Phedford NE

Resources: Federal / Local

Size: 299 acres    

Cause: Lightning

Status: Contained