Wind Cave National Park is conducting a 3,400-acre prescribed fire today and tomorrow. The name of it is “American Elk” and the project is east of Hwy. 385 and south of Hwy. 87, north of Hot Springs, South Dakota. There are approximately 130 firefighters assigned from Wind Cave, other National Park service units, the Black Hills National Forest, the State of South Dakota, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. A press release about the prescribed fire can be found HERE (it is a large 616k file).
Here are some photos that I shot today. More photos are on our Facebook Page.
In the photo above is Leah H. Mitchell, who was my “minder” while I took the photos. Leah wrote the great article about spending two days with the Zion Wildfire Module on the Cow Creek fire at the 10,000 foot level in Rocky Mountain National Park.
UPDATE @ 10:10 a.m. Oct. 21: The Rapid City Journal has a good article about the prescribed fire.
first off great photos. I think this is what needs to be done all over the US these prescribed fires help keep the probability of large fires down.
Thanks Matt. Fire Management Officer Eric Allen and his staff are doing a great job for the Northern Great Plains National Parks.
Great work, keep it up!
Yes, very nice photos. I have seen some outstanding photos on this site.
Nice to have a “minder” just in case one of the old dogs starts to wander off into the woods looking for trouble.
In my current job my client always gives one to me when we are out in the field. Keeps me safe and them happy.
Thanks B.Morgan! Yes, I didn’t object to having a minder. She was able to answer a lot of questions about the project.