South Dakota Wildland Fire has the answer behind the wave of wildfires

RAPID CITY, SD (KOTA) – Recently, numerous wildfires occurred throughout the KOTA area, causing residents to question how fire departments are responding to the fires.

South Dakota Wildland Fire has a facility west of Rapid City. It is one of four locations in the state that houses a variety of vehicles, from bulldozers that clear brush for firebreaks to aircraft.

The manager of one of the aviation programs knows from a bird’s eye view why the fires in our region have spread so quickly.

Tamara Dierks, training and aviation program manager for South Dakota Wildland Fire, describes the scene.

“We have a moisture deficit this year. If people google the US Drought Monitor, they’ll see that it’s actually a moderate to severe drought. If not, then there’s extreme drought in a small part of the Black Hills,” Dierks says.

Dierks says that while green grass is visible in the northern Black Hills, the fires still bring dead pine needles or wood debris.

If you go to the Dewey or Edgemont area near where a 100-acre Red Canyon Fire started a week ago, you’ll see that the grass is very brown and dried out.

Dierks says any fire would break out if even a little wind set these fuels ablaze.

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