The Rapid City water department wants to begin watering restrictions on April 1 because the water level at Pactola Reservoir is below normal.
''It's extremely dry, and a lot of people are out watering already, so we are starting the water conservation efforts early this year,'' said John Wagner, the city's water superintendent.
A fire near Rockerville burned a few acres on Sunday. It was started by a stray bullet from a target shooter. Last week, a fire from a discarded cigarette burned 37 acres east of Sturgis.
''Fire danger in western South Dakota and the Black Hills has been in the high to very high category,'' said Steve Hasenohrl, with the state Wildland Fire Suppression Unit.
Just a little rain in spring could make the situation worse. Officials say it will take a lot of rain to reduce the fire danger in logs and other dead material on the forest floor, but just occasional showers could be enough to trigger growth of grass and other small vegetation that could be fire fuel later in the year.
