January 30, 2018 - Bear Butte Fire Update

Bear Butte Fire size update:
     * Due to completion of GPS measurement, the Bear Butte Fire size is reported at 502 acres. Previously the size was estimated at 150 acres.

1-30-18 Pile Burning

Black Hills National Forest continues to pile burn today, 1/30/18.

• Bearlodge fire is planning to burn piles in Boundary Gulch (FSR 801) today. Piles will be visible from I-90 on the South Dakota/Wyoming border.

• Northern Hills fire will be burning piles located west of Iron Creek Lake on Old Baldy Road today.

• Hell Canyon fire is burning piles 2-3 miles SE of Red Bank Spring Campground today.

January 29, 2018 -- Update for Bear Butte Fire

Bear Butte Fire Update

     * The cause of the Bear Butte Fire was escape from a debris burn pile on private property.

January 29, 2018 Pile Burning

Black Hills National Forest is burning piles across the Forest today and continuing as conditions permit.

Mystic Ranger District:

• Planning to burn hand piles within a ½ mile of Silver City; in and around the Sunnyside Gulch area. Smoke may impact the communities of Silver City and may also impact Silver City Road, Jenny Gulch and Highway 385. Smoke may be in the area for several days. 
• Burning hand piles ½ mile east of Hill City and south of Old Hill City Road. Smoke may impact the communities of Hill City and/or Keystone. It may also impact Old Hill City Road, Highway 16, 16A, 385 and 244. 

North Zone:

• Burning machine piles east and west of Rochford, SD. (Dump Draw and Bloody Gulch)
• Conditions permitting, Bearlodge fire will be burning hand piles at Cook Lake Campground, 13 miles north of Sundance, WY. The piles are part of a fuels project in campground loop B, located north/northwest of the lake/dam.

January 28, 2018

Bear Butte Final Post @ 7:30 AM
     * Full containment at 2:00 AM
     * Final size to be determined - Last reported 150 acres
     * Local, state and federal resources responded
     * Cause - Under investigation
     * No evacuations were required

From IC Raymond Bubb, "What a difference a day makes!"

January 27, 2018

Incident #1: Bear Butte Fire

Update at 11:30 pm: From Ray Bubb, Incident Commander, State of South Dakota Fire: 
     * Dozer lines around the fire almost complete. Fire crews are making good progress on strengthening the line. Updates follows. 

     * Reported at 11:40 am - Updated photos at 8:30 pm photos: 
   Updated photos and statement from Ray Bubb, Incident Commander, State of South Dakota Fire: "Fuels burning inside the control lines on the Bear Butte Fire."

   
     * State jurisdiction - Bear Butte State Park, NW side of Bear Butte
     * Approximately 150 acres 
     * Approximately 30% contained
     * County, state and federal resources on-scene. 
     * Evacuations: NO mandatory evacuations. Local area residents on pre-evacuation notice.
     * Incident command post (ICP) established at Bear Butte Visitor Center
     * Media personnel may contact SD Highway Patrol to allow them to travel to ICP
     * Cause - under investigation


 
 
 Photos from Raymond Bubb, Incident Commander, State of South Dakota at 5:00 pm

#BearButteFire

January 26, 2018

Spruce Gulch 

• Started January 25th at 7:45pm
• Located off Spruce Gulch Road, east of Deadwood in the Grizzly Gulch burn scar
• Human caused
•  Size is 2 acres
• Local, State and Federal resources on scene 

January 25, 2018

Incident #1 - High Meadows Fire reported at 4:28 pm
     * 1/4 acre
     * Location - west of Black Hawk and Summer Set area
     * Human caused
     * Private land
     * Resources responding - local, state and federal
     * Contained at 5:15 pm
   

1-24-18 Pile Burning

• Hell Canyon fire on the Black Hills National Forest will be burning piles today located in the Parmlee Canyon area, approximately 3 miles east of the SD/WY border and 9 miles southeast of Four Corners, WY.

1-23-18 Pile Burning

Black Hills National Forest Pile Burning Info:

Forest Managers are working to reduce hazardous fuels across the Black Hills National Forest.

Starting today (1/23/18) & continuing as conditions permit, firefighters will be burning piles located in the following areas:

Hell Canyon Ranger District (southern Black Hills)

• Hell Canyon fire will be igniting Hahn piles East/North East of Custer, if conditions warrant and around 50 Hahn piles, 3-4 miles west of Custer.

Mystic Ranger District (central Black Hills)

• Hand piles located ½ mile east of Hill City and south of 12491 Old Hill City Road. Smoke may impact the communities of Hill city and/or Keystone for several days; it may also impact Old Hill City Road, Highway 16, 16A, 385, and 244. 

• Hand piles within a ½ mile of Silver City and in and around Sunnyside Gulch area. Smoke may impact the community of Silver City, Silver City Road, Jenny Gulch and Highway 385. 

• Burning machine piles 2 miles north and northwest of Johnson Siding if conditions allow. Smoke and flames may be visible from the following areas: Johnson siding, Norris Peak Road, Bogus Jim Road and Nemo Road. 

• Burning machine piles 1 mile west of the town of Blackhawk if conditions allow. Smoke and flames may be visible from the following areas: Blackhawk, Interstate 90, Peaceful Pines area, Woodland Drive area, High Meadows area Canyon Place and Nemo Road. 

• Burning machine piles 3 miles west of Red Rock Subdivision if conditions allow. Smoke and flames may be visible from the following areas: Sheridan Lake Road west of Countryside Subdivision, Red Rocks, Dark Canyon Road off Hwy 44, Nordsmen Road, Victoria Lake Road and Hisega. 

• Burning piles 2 miles west of Hwy 16 on White Horse Road. Smoke may be seen from Hwy 16 Spring Creek Road, Hwy 244 and Hwy 89. 

• Burning machine piles around the Tigerville area, 5 miles west of Hill city. Smoke and flames may be visible from Deerfield Road, Mystic Road, Tigerville, Newton Fork Road and Hill City. 

• Burning piles 1 mile NW and 1 mile NE of Hill City. Smoke and flames will be visible from Hill City, Marshall Gulch Road, China Gulch Road, Hwy 16 and Deerfield Road.

North Zone Fire (northern Black Hills)

• North Zone Fire will be burning machine piles in the Boundary Gulch area today provided snow conditions and other burn parameters are favorable. Piles will be visible from I-90 on the South Dakota/Wyoming border. 

• Conditions permitting, piles will also be burned on both sides of north Rochford Road, south of Custer Crossing Road turnoff, Nemo Road Elk Creek Subdivision East, north of Dalton Lake Road turnoff and the west side of Vanocker Road.

1-22-2018 Pile Burning

State handcrews will be burning small slash piles at the following locations: 

• Bear Mountain will be burning piles in Hermosa – approximately 150 piles.
• Black Hats will be burning piles at 2 Hour Rd in Custer – approximately 175 piles.

The piles will continue to be monitored throughout the week.  

1-17-18 Pile Burning

• Black Hills National Forest Hell Canyon fire is planning to burn piles approximately 9 miles southeast of Four Corners, WY starting today and continuing through the week.

January 16, 2018 Pile Burning

Black Hills National Forest Bearlodge fire is planning to burn 100-150 hand piles around Loop B at Cook Lake Campground this week, weather dependent. Smoke will be visible from Cook Lake and Warren Peak.


Update!
Crews made it to Custer and determined there was not enough snow to burn piles today. They will now be burning about 100 piles at the Boulder Canyon Project in Sturgis. 

South Dakota Handcrews will be burning around 100 piles today near 2 Hour Road in Custer.

1-12-18 Pile Burning

• Black Hills National Forest Northern Hills fire is burning piles N of Custer Crossing Rd.  SW of Custer Peak today, 1/12/18.

1-10-18 Pile Burning

• Black Hills National Forest Mystic fire will be burning hand piles today, 1/10/18 – Friday, 1/12/18. Piles are located approximately ½ mile east of Hill City, SD.

1-8-18 Pile Burning

• Black Hills National Forest, Northern Hills Ranger District fire will be burning several piles over the next two weeks as conditions permit. The piles are located on Limestone Ridge, off FSR 733, north of Rochford off of north Rochford road (County Rd. 17), south of Flagstaff Mountain and off FSR 155.1. Smoke could impact areas north of Rochford, the central Tinton area and Vanocker Canyon.

1-3-18 Pile Burning

Black Hills National Forest Pile Burning Information:

• Hell Canyon fire will burn about 100 piles near Summit Ridge in the southern Black Hills.

• Northern Hills fire will be burning piles in multiple locations today including: Beartown near Iron Creek Lake, 3 piles in the Custer Peak Gravel Pit, West Side of Hardy Guard Station and at Boxelder Job Corps, near Nemo, SD.

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Piles Burning to occur in Custer State Park

Custer, SD; January 3^rd, 2018 – Custer State Park personnel will begin burning piles starting Wednesday, January 3rd  to help reduce hazardous fuel throughout the park.

Starting today and continuing throughout the winter, Custer State Park staff will be burning piles as long as conditions allow. Pile burning will occur along Hwy 16A in the Galena Divide area on the west side of Custer State Park.

Throughout the winter Custer State Park will be working to burn both machine slash piles and hand piles. The piles are created from the left-over non-merchantable material generated by timber sales and from small tree thinning projects designed to reduce fuel loading and fire risk.

Smoke will be visible and may impact local communities surrounding Custer State Park for the next several weeks. Piles can be expected to continue burning for days after ignition operations are completed. Firefighters will continually check and mop-up the piles until they are out.

Pile burning operations will continue throughout the winter as conditions allow.

For more pile burning information check the Custer State Park Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CusterStatePark/ or contact the Park Office at 605-255-4800.

1-2-18 Pile Burning

• U.S. Forest Service, Hell Canyon fire, will be burning approximately 200 piles today (1/2/18), 4 miles west of Custer, SD.