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.
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