South Dakota 2003 Season

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State prison inmates and other crews battled several small
timber and grass fires that flared up in western South Dakota over
the weekend.
About 20 inmates from the Custer Trusty Unit were called to a
fire near Crow Peak west of Spearfish, officials from the state
Department of Corrections said Sunday.
The fire, apparently caused by lightning, began Friday night in
heavy slash and steep terrain north-northwest of the mountain.
The U.S. Forest Service responded Friday night. By Saturday, the
agency had three hand crews, one helicopter and two single-engine
air tankers, according to Brenda Bowen, fire information officer.
In all, 65 firefighters fought the blaze.
Crews contained the fire Saturday afternoon after it burned
between 10-12 acres. But early Sunday morning firefighters who
remained on the scene to monitor the blaze were forced to leave
when wind gusts up to 50 mph knocked over snags and caused burning
material to roll down the slope and across the fireline, said
Bowen.
Near Wall, between 150 and 175 acres of wheat and wheat stubble
burned on Saturday. A pickup truck driving through a stubble field
apparently touched it off.
In Rapid City, a couple of small grass fires broke out Saturday
afternoon. One burned a patch of grass about 10 feet by 20 feet.
The other fire was reported in a field just east of the runway
at Rapid City Regional Airport. A farmer cutting hay apparently
struck a rock and sparked the blaze. It burned less than an acre.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Crews battled a fire in the southern Black Hills that grew to
more than 7650 acres on Tuesday.
About 200 federal, state and volunteer firefighters tackled the
Red Point Fire, which started Monday evening.
By Tuesday night, the fire was declared 60 percent contained,
with full containment predicted by 6 p.m. Wednesday.
It marked the largest fire in the Black Hills yet this year,
after an active fire season in 2002 that burned more than 25,000
acres in three major fires.
No homes were threatened in the fire Tuesday as it burned
timber, grassland and juniper.
The firefighting force, included eight Type II crews (including
two from the South Dakota Department of Corrections), five engines,
three water tenders, three dozers, one Forest Service helicopter,
one South Dakota National Guard helicopter, two Single Engine Air
Tankers and five area volunteer fire departments.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Crews contain 60 percent of Red Point Fire

(Undated-AP) -- A lightning-sparked fire that's burning near the
Wyoming state line in the southern Black Hills has consumed more
than 12-hundred acres.
But U-S Forest Service officials say crews are making progress.
About 335 firefighters are on the scene and had contained about
60 percent of the Red Point Fire by early this evening.
Two homes are in the fire area, but officials say haven't been
threatened.
One firefighter was injured and returned home for treatment.
One-hundred eighteen state prison inmates are among those crews
working the fire.

(Thanks in part KOTA-TV, Rapid City)

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[Rayr49]

The Red Point fire "blew up" this afternoon. Acreage is unknown at this time. A Type 2 oveerhead Team has been ordered.

Stay Safe
IACOJ

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Crews worked to rebuild a line around a lightning-sparked fire
in the southern Black Hills after the blaze intensified and spread
to the east and south on Thursday.
The fire has burned 2,000 acres in an area 16 miles southeast of
Newcastle, Wyo.
Previously, officials had estimated the size to be about 1,600
acres but revised the figure after reviewing results of a
helicopter survey and a Global Positioning System report.
About 40 percent of the fire had been contained late Thursday
afternoon, down from 60 percent containment on Wednesday, said
Charon Geigle, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service.
Dry conditions, low humidity and high temperatures "combined to
make for an active fire," Geigle said.
Thursday's high soared to 100 degrees in Rapid City.
About 400 firefighters were on the scene, including 118 state
prison inmates. Also used to battle the blaze were four bulldozers,
eight water tenders, two helicopters and two single-engine air
tankers.
Firefighter injuries include two cases of heat exhaustion, one
knee injury and one sprained ankle.
The fire also destroyed an abandoned homestead cabin with
outbuildings. Those structures were eligible for the National
Historic Register.
No road closures are in effect, but a temporary flight
restriction remains in place for the fire area.
The cost of firefighting as of Wednesday night was estimated at
$334,000.
Local officials have asked that a Type 2 team take control of
the fire. Such a team, generally called when a fire becomes erratic
or threatens homes, has access to more crews and machinery than a
Type 3 team, which had been leading the battle since it began
Monday.
Lightning from a passing storm last weekend apparently started
the fire, which smoldered before sparking into flames late Monday
afternoon.
On Tuesday, the Red Point Fire grew to 750 acres, and by
Wednesday afternoon, it was estimated at 1,000 acres.
Meanwhile, the Pennington County Commission initiated a ban on
open burning citing dry conditions in the county. Denny Gorton, the
county fire coordinator, said the weather will determine how long
the ban will be in place.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Officials continued to forecast a
Wednesday evening containment of the Red Point Fire, which had
burned 17,500 acres in South Dakota and a small part of Wyoming.
The lightning-caused fire was 90 percent contained Tuesday
evening, said Bob Sankey, a fire information officer.
Earlier on Tuesday crews had been operating under a "red flag
warning," an indication that high winds and thunderstorms could
affect fire behavior.
But firefighters got a break when the wind shifted and blew the
fire into an area that had already been burned, Sankey said.
Most of the fire has been limited to an unpopulated, remote area
of Custer County on the western edge of the Black Hills National
Forest in South Dakota. A small part has spread into Wyoming.
There were 902 personnel involved in fighting the fire on
Tuesday. The cost so far is put at $2.1 million.
---
On the Net:
Red Point Fire: www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - The Red Point Fire, which burned 17,500
acres in South Dakota and a small part of Wyoming, was fully
contained Wednesday evening, fire officials said.
Firefighters still do not expect to have the fire under control
until Aug. 9. Control means the fire is completely extinguished.
But with the fire contained, many crews have been demobilizing and
either heading home or to other fire assignments.
The fire, sparked July 21 by lightning, burned 16 miles
southeast of Newcastle, Wyo. The cost of fighting it has been
estimated at $3.3 million.
Most of the fire was limited to an unpopulated, remote area of
Custer County on the western edge of the Black Hills National
Forest in South Dakota. A small part had spread into Wyoming.
Last week, county officials announced a precautionary evacuation
in the area west of Dewey Road from Highway 16, southward to the
Lauzon School. No homes were immediately threatened, however, and
the evacuation was lifted Monday. A historic cabin was destroyed by
the fire.
There had been more than 900 people battling the fire. Fire
crews and personnel came from states such as Delaware, Maine,
Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Nebraska, Montana and Wyoming to fight the blaze. Other resources
used in fighting the fire included eight bulldozers, four
helicopters and three air tankers.
But by Wednesday evening, the number of people on the fire had
gone down to 660.
The Red Point Fire was the first large fire this season in the
Black Hills. There were three major fires last year in the Black
Hills, charring more than 39 square miles. One of those fires
prompted the evacuation of Deadwood and a portion of Lead.
---
On the Net:
Red Point Fire: www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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(Pine Ridge-AP) -- About 150 firefighters got around two large
wildfires on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on Sunday when the
weather changed.
According to Bureau of Indian Affairs Information Officer Diane
Mann-Klager, the Papa Fire and the Hollow Horn Fire were "100
percent contained" yesterday.
Fire officials say a Type Two federal fire management team from
Tennessee will be leaving tomorrow.
The fire danger was reduced from very high to high for most of
the Black Hills area today. The reduced danger level was prompted
by lower temperatures and higher humidity in the Black Hills.
The Papa Fire burned near Allen, and the Hollow Horn Fire was
near Wounded Knee.
Mann-Klager says the critical issue of getting rest for the
firefighters appears to have been achieved.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)