UPDATE at 5:21 p.m. MT, July 22, 2012:
This afternoon firefighters conducted a large burnout to tie in a fireline on the southeast side of the fire in Cold Brook Canyon, and from there north along Song Dog Road (didn’t this used to be called Shirt Tail Road?). It put up a great deal of smoke and looks bad if you don’t know what’s going on, but I was there on scene and the portion I saw went very well.
No time for more right now. Will post photos later.
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Original article at 8:40 a.m. July 22:
The incident management team assigned to the Myrtle fire in the Black Hills of South Dakota is calling the fire 20 percent contained and 9,075 acres. It is likely that much of the fire received some rain from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday as thunderstorms with a great deal of lightning moved through the Black Hills. The Elk Mountain weather station 1 mile east of the fire measured 0.28″, and the BKF1 Portable weather station 4 miles west of the fire recorded 0.16″.
The most current map the team has provided, below, was current as of 11:56 p.m. June 20.
An update from the Incident Management Team:
Date: July 21, 2012, at 10:00 p.m.
Current Situation: Firefighters continued to make progress on containment of the Myrtle Fire today. Containment of the fire was increased to 20% this evening with additional containment on the northern perimeter of the fire. Firefighters and crews were able to construct hand line and dozer line on the western perimeter of the fire. Afternoon thunderstorms prevented a planned firing operation to occur this afternoon on the eastern perimeter of the fire. Overnight, firefighters will improve containment lines and patrol the fire perimeter.
On Sunday, firefighters plan to improve and hold containment lines on the northern perimeter of the fire. On the western side of the fire, crews will continue line construction to the south. On the eastern side of the fire, crews are planning to conduct a firing operation that was delayed today due to weather and safety considerations. Public Information Officers will be available for media tours at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at the staging area in Pringle. A community meeting will be held in Pringle tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. in the community building next to the fire station.
Weather: Scattered thunderstorms developing in the afternoon is anticipated to continue on Sunday and through the first part of next week. Temperatures will be in the 90’s tomorrow with a minimum relative humidity of 30% and increasing in the afternoon with the development of the expected thunderstorms. Winds will be light and variable throughout the day.
Information about the status of evacuations can be found at InciWeb.
Thanks for providing that incident map. We can hardly see smoke anymore, but evacuations are still in effect. Now I can see why – the intense heat is close to Argyle Road.