At least three wildfires have forced the evacuations of at least 400 western South Dakota homes and prompted the closure of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Gusts to 90 mph in Casper, WY. #SchroederFire forced 4-500 homes to evacuate. Fire near I-90 where a section & @MountRushmoreNM was closed for a time. High fire & wind danger from Crosby, ND south to El Paso in red flag warnings! Video: Rapid City, SD@severestudios /Jordan Hall pic.twitter.com/BNjR6dIjSw
— Ginger Zee (@Ginger_Zee) March 30, 2021
“This is a very active and dangerous scene,” the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office posted to Facebook.
Law Enforcement and Fire Department agencies are responding to a major fire near Schroder Road in the Nemo area. High...
Posted by Pennington County Sheriff's Office on Monday, March 29, 2021
The Schroeder Fire, first reported Monday morning just west of Rapid City, had burned an estimated 1,900 acres in the Black Hills by Monday night, requiring about 250 firefighters to contain the blaze, The New York Times reported.
Schroeder Fire tonight from Skyline Drive in Rapid City, SD pic.twitter.com/KWvBQmPArp
— penncofire (@penncofire) March 30, 2021
Rob Powell, incident commander for the Schroeder Fire, said that the wind-driven blaze is believed to have destroyed two homes and several outbuildings and was “still moving” and “zero percent contained” by 8:30 p.m. local time Monday, the Rapid City Journal reported.
No injures have been reported, but authorities told the Times that the blaze appears to have been caused by humans.
Current Situation: The Schroeder wildfire, currently burning in Pennington County, just one mile west of Rapid City...
Posted by Schroeder Fire 2021 on Monday, March 29, 2021
Evacuations, which Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom estimated totaled between 400 and 500 homes, were ordered across the Rapid City area throughout the day Monday, affecting residents of Dark Canyon Road, Magic Canyon Road, Cleghorn Canyon Road, Pinedale Heights, Nameless Cave Road, Cavern Road and Camp Minneluzahan, the Journal reported.
Map of evacuation areas from Schroeder Road fire:
— Pennington County SO (@PennCoSheriff) March 29, 2021
Cleghorn Canyon
Nameless Cave Rd
Cavern Rd
Pinedale Heights
Dark Canyon
Magic Canyon
Blake Rd
Mini Luzahan Camp
Residents can return to Schroeder Road & West Berry Hill Road. Nemo Road is open again after brief closing. pic.twitter.com/KxpEflWfb9
Meanwhile, two smaller fires near the town of Keystone, fueled by the same fierce winds about 20 miles southwest of Rapid City, forced the closure of Mount Rushmore and roads leading to the national memorial indefinitely, the Times reported.
According to the Journal, Wind gusts from 72 to 81 mph were reported in the Rapid City area Monday, along with sustained gusts of 55 mph. Meanwhile, one of the Keystone fires was estimated to cover about 75 acres, while the other scorched about 20 acres.
Aerial surveillance of the SchrosdervRoad fire. Lots of smoke and high winds. Over 800 acres burned already. pic.twitter.com/ORA7lrBMQc
— Pennington County SO (@PennCoSheriff) March 29, 2021
Matthew Bunkers of the National Weather Service in Rapid City told the newspaper that northwest winds are expected to drop to between 30 and 45 mph Tuesday, and by Wednesday winds should subside to between 10 and 15 mph in the Black Hills, the newspaper reported.
Cox Media Group
