HOT SPRINGS, S.D. – Planning is
underway to burn 1,094 acres of land east of the park’s headquarters this
April. Timing for the fire will depend on fuel moisture, weather forecasts, and
crew availability.
“The primary objectives of the
Lookout Flats fire are to reduce fuel loading, decrease encroachment of young
ponderosa pine onto the prairie, and increase cover of native forbs,” said
Acting Park Superintendent Milton Haar. “Prescribed fires help decrease the
intensities of future fires and mimic the natural fire regimes of a mixed-grass
prairie.”
The primary vegetation within the
project area is short grass. Ignition will take place through the utilization
of ground resources. Assisting with the fire will be National Park Service
firefighters with support from other interagency resources.
During the day of the burn, smoke
from the fire may be heavy at times along Highways 385 and 87 and visible from
the surrounding region. The highways might be closed intermittently for safety
reasons. Unless there is significant precipitation, smoke might be seen in the
area for several days following the burn.
The Lookout Point, Highland
Creek, and Wind Cave Canyon Trails will be closed during fire operations and
possibly for the two weeks following the burn. Other impacts to Park operations
are expected but efforts will be made to minimize visitor impacts.
This fire represents a
continuation of the park's prescribed fire program which began in 1972.
Sections of the park are burned, under favorable conditions, to simulate
natural fires. Prescribed fires maintain the balance between forest and
prairie, removes the build-up of dead fuels which reduces the chance of a
catastrophic wildfire, and rejuvenates the native prairie grasses.
Prescribed fires are carefully
conducted under identified and approved prescription conditions. Factors
such as humidity, fuel moisture, wind speed and direction, and short and
long-range weather patterns are all considered in establishing the acceptable
conditions for conducting a prescribed fire. If the prescribed set of
conditions cannot be met on a specific day, the planned fire is
postponed.
