The Bismarck Tribune
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RAPID CITY, S.D. — Recent rains have doused the fire danger in the Black Hills for the time, though temperatures — and the fire risk — could climb again.
The rain and cooler nights will start to reduce the size of the fires, and the hills will likely go into a normal fall fire cycle, said State Wildland Fire Coordinator Joe Lowe.
Winter fires are usually smaller, but they still happen, he said.
Good planning and the availability of air tankers and helicopters helped crews control this summer’s fires, Lowe said.
“Those things were on standby here and that made the difference. A lot of these fires could have been large-scale fires. But they were picked up early because of the rapid response and having the tools available to pick up the fires,” he said.
Some firefighters will likely head to other hot spots such as Nevada and California through the end of the year, Lowe said.