SPEARFISH, SD – A small fire caused by a lightning strike from the previous evening’s thunderstorm was contained Friday west of Spearfish.
Units from the Spearfish Fire Department and U.S. Forest Service had the fire, which burned less than one-tenth of an acre in the southwest corner of Wild Turkey Estates, under control about two hours after the initial call came in.
Around 9:50 a.m. Friday, fire units were alerted to a report of a column of smoke in the Crow Peak area. Responding units discovered the source of the smoke was a single tree, located near the top of a canyon edge, that had been struck by lightning, was smoldering, and sparked the small fire.
Spearfish Fire Department Division Chief Travis Ladson explained that the fire was contained at about 11:10 a.m. and controlled at around 11:55 a.m. No structures were in danger from the fire. The Spearfish Fire Department had one tender, two brush trucks, and one command staff unit respond; the U.S. Forest Service had two engines and one hand crew respond. As of the writing of this release, the Forest Service units continue to monitor the area before they will declare the fire officially “out.”
Ladson thanked the community for being on the lookout for signs of fires and reminded everyone that even with the recent rains, people should be aware of and practice fire prevention and safety.
“We still need to be careful,” he said. “We have a lot of fuels in the Black Hills that will burn.”
