Prescribed Burn Planned for November 14, 2024

 BLM Planning to Conduct Prescribed Burn in Meade County on Fort Meade Recreation Area

The Bureau of Land Management plans to conduct a prescribed burn on the Fort Meade Recreation Area  Thursday November 14, 2024.  This 240-acre burn is planned near the Fort Meade Reservoir north of Highway 34.  Smoke may be visible from Interstate 90, State Highway 34, State Highway 79, and the city of Sturgis.  Burning will be completed in one day but smoke may be visible for multiple days after ignition is completed.

Prescribed fire projects require an extensive planning process to determine prescription parameters based off local knowledge, subject matter experts, as well as accepted scientific and computer-based modeling.

Burning will only take place when weather conditions are conducive to safe operations.  Fire officials will monitor the current and forecasted weather to determine if conditions will remain favorable.  The BLM will contact local authorities prior to any burning taking place.  

Burn objectives are to reduce hazardous fuels accumulations, reduce ponderosa pine stand densities, and restore a more balanced pine-savanna habitat. Reducing plant litter, decadent grass, and fuel accumulations will also lower the likelihood or intensity of future wildfires in the area.  Prescribed fire also encourages new growth in forage for wildlife and cattle, maintains many plant and animal species whose habitats depend on periodic fire, removes unwanted species that threaten species native to an ecosystem, and recycles nutrients back to the soil.

For additional information call the South Dakota Field Office at 605-892-7000.

For updates before, during, and after prescribed burning operations, you can follow us on Facebook at Bureau of Land Management – Montana/Dakotas or on Twitter @BLM_MTDKs.

Nov. 8, 2024 - Prescribed Burn Continues Southwest of Rapid City, SD

Yesterday, 11/7/24, firefighters successfully burned 100 acres on the Mystic Ranger District, Black Hills National Forest and are planning to burn an additional 125 acres today, Fri. 11/8/24.

 
Firefighters burn to reduce the severity and intensity of wildfires by reducing hazardous fuels that feed wildfires. Burning improves overall forest health by recycling carbon and nutrients into the soil and controlling forest insects. It also increases forage for wildlife, like grass and shrubs, and improves conditions for better wildlife habitat.

Thank you to the crews who are assisting with this burn including Whispering Pines VFD, Rapid City Fire Department, Mimbres NM crew, Haycamp crew, and the Mystic Ranger District, Black Hills National Forest.

(Photos: Victoria prescribed fire, Nov. 7, 2024, by Cecilia Lepa-Wince, Black Hills National Forest/USDA Forest Service)

Prescribed Burn November 7 and 8, 2024

Forest Service News Release
Media Contact: Beth Doten, Public Affairs
(605) 440-0263
bethany.doten@usda.gov
www.fs.usda.gov/blackhills/

Broadcast Burn Planned Southwest of Rapid City, SD

starting Thurs. Nov. 7, 2024

 

Rapid City, SD, Nov. 6, 2024 — If you see a large plume of smoke in the air starting tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, southwest of Rapid City, SD, please do not call 911. Fire managers are conducting a prescribed burn west of the junction of Victoria Lake and First Thunder Roads. 

The Mystic Ranger District on the Black Hills National Forest is planning to ignite up to 250 acres on the Victoria Project on Thursday and Friday, weather permitting.

The Victoria Project area is located approximately 5 miles southwest of Rapid City, SD. 

We are asking forest visitors, recreational shooters, and hunters to consider using an alternate location on the Forest during this time to ensure the safety of our firefighters and the public.

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 burn for several days afterward. If you see smoke from this burn, please refrain from calling 911.

Broadcast burns are the application of fire to the landscape under pre-determined environmental conditions and geographic locations. Utilizing fire gives land managers another tool to meet resource objects.

Crews have been preparing to implement the project for several years.

The U.S. Forest Service conducts broadcast burns in an effort of reducing hazardous fuels and to improve wildlife habitat and forest health. Certain criteria must be met for a broadcast burn to take place, including smoke dispersal conditions, weather, adequate staffing, and fuel moisture. These are all outlined in a burn plan, that is thoroughly reviewed before implementation.

Once completed, the burn area will also serve to lessen fire intensities from naturally ignited fires such as lightning and provide fire managers more options and increase safety when suppressing future fires.

Forest visitors are asked to be aware of their surroundings. Areas where burning operations are taking place will be signed to notify visitors. The public is also encouraged to contact a nearby Forest Service office with questions.

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.