RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A local fire official whose department responded to a fire that swept through a Lakota-led camp for the homeless near Rapid City says the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs should have taken responsibility for the blaze.
Tuesday’s fire at Camp Mniluzahan destroyed or damaged at least ten tents and burned less than a half acre of grass.
The camp is on land held in trust by the Oglala, Rosebud and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes.
Pennington County Fire Service administrator Jerome Harvey says that makes it the responsibility of Wildland Fire Management at the BIA. Harvey says he’s reached out to the BIA to address the issue.
