Photos of the Fork and Glenerin Fires – Wildfire Today

Photos of the Fork and Glenerin Fires

Bill Gabbert
October 19, 2012

We checked out the Fork Fire west of Custer, SD, and the Glenerin fire east of Custer this afternoon and shot some photos. The Fork Fire was pretty quiet and had a fire line around it. There was still some interior burning going on and quite a bit of mop-up left to do, but thanks to the good work of the firefighters the prognosis is good.

These first photos are of the Fork Fire. The Glenerin photos are farther down.

(More information about these fires.)

Fork Fire — There were a handful of structures within and adjacent to the fire that were protected and saved.

Fork Fire — Much of the area that burned had been thinned. There was virtually no torching or crowning anywhere in the fire due to the thinning, the wide spacing of the trees, the lack of ladder fuels, the low Haines Index, and the very strong wind that did not allow heat to build up in the crowns, keeping the fire on the ground.

More photos are below.

Fork Fire — Nice looking truck!

Engine 654 from the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado — This photo and the next two include the engine crew on Engine 654 from the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado.

Fork Fire — Engine 654 from the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado

Fork Fire — Engine 654 from the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado

Fork Fire — There were numerous mega-slash piles in the general area of the fire. This one was protected by a dozer line put in by a USFS D-6 dozer. You don’t want one of these burning next to your fireline.

Below are photos of the Glenerin fire, 3 miles east of Custer, SD.

Glenerin Fire — The Glenerin fire. The last I heard the estimated size was 10 acres.

Glenerin Fire — The water tender from Badlands National Park. The park bought it used, years ago when they had a need to haul water to a distant facility. In it’s previous life it was a milk truck and therefore has a stainless steel tank. It has a sleeper cab which comes in handy for extended fire assignments and holds either 3,000 or 5,000 gallons. Anyone know for sure?

Glenerin Fire — A Blackhawk from the South Dakota National Guard. It was explained to us that due to the steep slope the firefighters enlisted the help of the Blackhawk to deliver water to the top of the ridge.

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