By: Thomas Farrell
WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, S.D. – Firefighters from several agencies assisted Wind Cave National Park with a 1,037-acre prescribed fire the week of October 16. The fire bordered the park’s headquarters, including the Elk Mountain Campground, and was conducted Sunday and Monday, October 16 and 17, with mop-up operations Tuesday. Firefighters will continue to patrol the fire until it is declared out.
“We are very appreciative of the assistance we received from outside agencies to conduct this fire,” said Park Superintendent Leigh Welling. “The fire reduced the fuel load, and the chance of a catastrophic wildfire, in a critical area adjacent to our developed area."
Efforts Sunday to initiate the fire were hampered by fog and high humidity levels in the grass and forested areas. A warmer and sunnier Monday dried out the fuels leading to a productive fire. Fire Ecologists will monitor preestablished plots to judge the effectiveness of the fire in the coming years, but signs point to the fire achieving many of the project objectives.
Assisting with fire operations were National Park Service employees from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, and Buffalo National River in Arkansas. Firefighters from the Bureau of Indian Affairs out of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from Crescent Lake, Nebraska, the Black Hills National Forest, and an engine out of Oelrichs, South Dakota, helped with the fire.
Objectives for the fire included reducing the fuel load, restoring the balance between forested areas and prairie, and allowing more moisture to seep into the cave, which was located under parts of the burn.
There is still some smoke in the area and motorist are urged to use caution when driving through the park.
For more information, visit: [www.nps.gov/wica]www.nps.gov/wica and click on Management.