Crews battling Black Hills wildfires hampered by strong wind
Firefighters battling wildfires in the Black Hills of South Dakota create a trench with axes on a hillside west of Rapid City on Monday, March 29, 2021. The blaze that started on property near the town of Nemo had burned at least 11/2 square miles and led to the evacuation of 400 homes as of Monday afternoon. Officials say two homes and numerous outbuildings were destroyed on a day when wind gusts reached 72 mph. (Siandhara Bonnet/Rapid City Journal via AP)
NEMO, S.D. (AP) — High winds Tuesday hampered firefighters battling wildfires in the Black Hills of South Dakota that have forced the evacuations of more than 400 homes and closed the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Three separate wildfires were burning near Rapid City, with the largest near Schroeder Road in the Nemo area. That fire has burned nearly 3 square miles (7.7 square kilometers). Two smaller blazes were burning southwest of Rapid City, near Keystone, leading Mount Rushmore National Memorial to close through at least Wednesday, as well as surrounding roads.
The Schroeder Road fire has not grown considerably since Monday, U.S. Forest Service support services specialist Halley Legge said Tuesday. At least one home has been destroyed, officials said. No injuries have been reported.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who traveled to Rapid City on Monday to oversee the response, said the Schroeder Road fire started on private property. "There have been losses and that is tragic," she said.
Legge said wind speed is still an issue as about 250 firefighters continue their work.
Gusty northwest winds continued Tuesday across the western South Dakota plains, the National Weather Service in Rapid City tweeted. Winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts of 55 mph were expected, the weather service said.
Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom said his family was among those who were evacuated.
"I watched a neighbor's house go up in flames. So it touches all of us," Thom said at a news conference.
One of the other blazes has burned an estimated 75 acres (30.35 hectares) and the third 20 acres (8.09 hectares).