Myrtle Fire Update
Date: July 23, 2012
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Current Situation: On Monday, fire crews continued to work on containment of the Myrtle Fire. The hard work of the firefighters during the past few days has enabled fire managers to increase the containment of the fire to 75% as of this evening. Today, crews continued to mop-up the fire – a process firefighters use to make sure there is no heat or hot spots near the perimeter of the fire. Tomorrow, firefighters will continue to secure the fire line and make efforts to reduce the impacts to the landscape from the firefighting effort.
Information Officers will be offering a media tour on Tuesday. Interested media is asked to report to the staging area in Pringle at 11:00 a.m.
Cause of Fire: “A Forest Service Special Agent determined the most probable cause of the Myrtle fire was a Forest Service road grader that was performing road maintenance. The fire most likely started when the metal blade fractured a rock on the road surface igniting the grassy fuels on the roadside.”
Message from Craig Bobzien, Forest Supervisor: “Our hearts go out to those impacted by this large and difficult fire. We appreciate the skill demonstrated by the Forest Type 3 Fire Team, Custer County and cooperators in performing initial attack and evacuations. We thank the Rocky Mountain Type 1 Team, State of South Dakota, the communities, and all cooperators for their tremendous progress containing the fire, protecting people and homes, and securing areas and power so that residents may return safely to their homes.”
Evacuations and Closures: All evacuations have been lifted as of 1:00 p.m. today. Utility companies have restored power to all primary residences in the area. All roads in the fire area have been opened as of 1:00 p.m. today. Fire crews will be continuing to work in the area, and residents are asked to use caution while traveling on roads.
Wind Cave National Park will reopen on Tuesday.
Special Prevention Message: Stage II Fire & Smoking Restrictions are in place on the Black Hills National Forest. Fireworks are always prohibited on public lands. For complete information on Stage II Fire & Smoking Restrictions, please visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5378450.pdf.
Fire Statistics
Location: 1 mile east of Pringle, SD
Start Date: July 19, 2012
Size: 10,080 acres
Percent Contained: 75
Cause: Human-caused
Total Personnel: 667
Cost: $3,200,000
Resources on Scene: 7 Type 1 hand crews, 6 Type 2 hand crews, 46 engines, 2 dozers, 11 water tenders, 7 Type 1 helicopters, 1 Type 2 helicopter, 3 Type 3 helicopters, fixed wing support and overhead personnel
All roads are OPEN.
Wind Cave is OPEN.
Mickelson Trail is OPEN.
Custer State Park is OPEN.
Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team- Bill Hahnenberg, Incident Commander
Fire Information: (605) 939-0354
Email: myrtlefireinfo@gmail.com
Online: http://inciweb.org/incident/3028/
Photos: http://photobucket.com/myrtlefire_public
Hours of operation: 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
The Black Hills: From Custer to Devils Tower. 