UPDATED at 11:25 a.m. MT, April 6, 2013:
The US Forest Service has announced that their escaped prescribed fire is 90 percent contained and is now estimated to have burned 10,800 acres southeast of Hettinger, North Dakota and southwest of Lemmon, South Dakota. One outbuilding has burned, along with fences, hay, and pastures.
On Friday there were 16 engines and 2 water tenders assigned. Firefighters have been engaged in mopup, including trying to put out a burning dump site close to the fire perimeter.
There will be a public meeting at the North Dakota State University Research Center in Hettinger, ND on Saturday April 6 at 4:00 p.m. Information about the Pautre Fire and the claims process will be presented by the USFS.
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UPDATED at 10:23 a.m. MT, April 5, 2013:
An article in The Rapid City Journal has more information about the impacts of the fire on the ranchers. Privately owned grazing, hay stacks, and miles of fencing were damaged or destroyed during the ranchers’ calving season. Here is an excerpt:
Laurie Casper, 36, said the fire destroyed 95 percent of her family’s farmland, which is more than 1,000 acres.
“We lost all of our calving pasture, we lost our summer grazing, we lost our fall grazing, we lost 100 percent of our alfalfa— which we cut for hay bales in order to feed the cattle this oncoming winter— all that’s completely gone,” she said. “And there’s just just miles and miles of fences that are completely gone.”
Casper’s family didn’t sleep on Wednesday night. The fire came at the worst time for them and other ranchers: the middle of calving season. While Casper’s family found refuge for their cattle in a neighbor’s cornfield, her family is now worried about their herd’s health. On Thursday morning, their cattle wouldn’t clean their calves because they smelled like smoke. They also fear their livestock may suffer respiratory issues after inhaling dust and smoke.
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UPDATED at 10:21 p.m. MT, April 4, 2013:
The Pautre Fire is 75 percent contained and is still estimated to have burned 14,000 acres.
Eighteen fire engines and two water tenders are assigned to the fire and continue to work on strengthening the perimeter and providing structure protection. Full containment of the fire is expected by Friday evening.
Paul Hancock, Grand River District Ranger said, “As suppression operations are ending, the Forest Service will be conducting an assessment to determine property damage and working on short and long term strategies to pay for the damage we caused.”
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(Originally published at 12:34 p.m. MT, April 4, 2013)
A prescribed fire on the Grand River Ranger District of the Dakota Prairie National Grasslands escaped on Wednesday and burned 14,000 to 16,000 acres of grassland near Lemmon in northwest South Dakota (map). The fire was being conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, the agency that administers the National Grassland.
Babete Anderson, a spokesperson for the National Grassland, told Wildfire Today Thursday morning that the spread of the wildfire now named the Pautre Fire, has been stopped and no structures were destroyed. A little snow Thursday morning assisted firefighters with mopup
The original plan for the prescribed fire called for treating 130 acres with fire. At about 2 p.m. on Wednesday winds gusting up to 30 mph pushed the fire across control lines. Approximately 50 to 60 percent of the acres that burned were on private land. Firefighters are calling it 50 percent contained on Thursday and expect strong winds again late in the afternoon on Thursday.
“The Forest Service regrets that the prescribed burn escaped the containment lines and affected so many people. I appreciate the support and efforts from the firefighters, their families and the communities affected by this fire.” stated Paul Hancock, Grand River District Ranger.
Not knowing what the conditions on the ground were, but this could be a bad time of year to have a fire. Hay stacks of course, but with the drought last year in my area of Montana, any grass that you did not have to graze was stockpiled for the coming winter. The forage value is not the best but an un grazed pasture in the spring when green up is a long way off is worth its weight in gold. It gets the cows and calves out the haylot faster. And having had a short hay crop last year makes it all the more valuable. Not saying that is the case for this rancher, just giving a ranchers perspective. I would bet she is mad as hell.
This will be investigated. Alot of “red-flags” should of been raised before igniting that day. But I do have to comment on the lady Rancher who said they lost their calving pastures, summer pastures, etc. Unless Northern South Dakota is way different from the rest of the Plains States, there is no way they lost anything….grass is never ready for 1st harvest until around June, (maybe a bit earlier) and burning this grass will make it even better come this Summer. If they get the rain/snow that is predicted this week, it will grow better in the next 2-4 weeks than it would have not being burned in the 1st place. So I am thiniking she is throwing that “we lost everything” out there to make it easier to file Tort claims against the Government for property loss.
But, from what I have gathered from everything I have read, they probably shouldn’t of ignited the unit that day. That is my PERSONAL opinion only.
you may be partially correct. As far as new growth, or future growth, especially the comment about the loss of alfalfa i didnt understand, but in this part of cattle country, we rely not only on hay, but also on last year´s growth, The native grasses here cure standing ion the pasture and provide valuable forage during the winter and even the following summer in cases of a drought year. This is our natural reserve, to suppliment along with hay. And whether burning is advantageous is debatable. In semi desert areas like NW South Dakota, the organic cover of last years grass provides valuable moisture retention, like mulch. That mulch is lost after a fire.
Can’t speak to SD for sure, but a bit farther south in the heartland, the prolonged drought has lead to some unusual fire behavior this year – fires, whether rx or wildfire, have been burning much more aggressively than would be expected given the conditions at the time. Even rx’s well within prescription have been challenging, and several well-experienced, well-equipped organizations with well-staffed burns have had escapes. A lot of planned burning activity by both Gov’t agencies and private landowners are being postponed for another season. A couple recent wildfires occurred on days with almost no wind, relatively high RH, and moderate temperatures, and still required a significantly higher resource commitment than in prior years for a similar size fire.
that is how we keep the truth from the people dont tell them the truth washington said No control burn it was put in writeing they broke the law they are going to the pen for this your not going to sweep this under the rug it to late washington knows what they did out here your on your way to the pen
I can’t help but think that these escaped fires are a sign of things to come. Here in Colorado it’s already very dry and warming up quick with a severe lack of snow pack. We’ve had scary summers where we lucked out due to lack of winds and ignition sources with dry fuels all across the country, but it cannot last. With the lack of air support, ground support, and what I can assume will be a inclination to save money and minimize initial attack, there’s a real possibility to have more “mega fires” this year. What’s much worse is the danger I feel we’re going to put our guys and gals in due to lack of support and information needed to fight a wildfire efficiently and safely.
Hmmmmmmmm
Monday morning quarterbacking here,,,,BUT yesterday’s wind near Lemmon, SD were approx W 17 G 22 at 1053 AM MDT and showed N 23 G 30 at 1853 MDT PM! With no reduction in winds during the periods in between!!!
Now ……really? What did the SPOT WX say?
50 to 60 per cent on private land? Does anyone wonder why the general public has a jaded view about some of these fires?
What was the snowfall there this year? Was this a necessary fuels reduction or a ” management burn” to meet some prescription goals?
Does anyone remember CO last year? Granted there were no structures….but “treating” a whopping 130 acres on a possible wind event day and going to 14 to 16K………..well it does not take Red Flag Warning day to obtain a NWS WX report.
Looking at today’s jetstream analysis and “superimposing” yesterday’s WX onto today’s…….indicates there was some indicative wind events on the prowl early in the day due frontal movement would indicate to me……wellll another day with some alternatives…..
BUT I was not there….