Update: Mount Rushmore opens as firefighters make progress on Black Hills wildfires

The Schroeder Fire at Rapid City has burned 2,165 acres

Updated 8:01 a.m. MDT April 1, 2021

Schroeder Fire, March 31, 2021
Schroeder Fire, March 31, 2021. Incident Management Team photo.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial opened for visitors at 5 a.m. Thursday, April 1. The 244 Fire within the Memorial has been more accurately mapped at 136 acres. Sixty firefighters from federal, state, and local government are working to secure containment lines, mop up hot spots, and remove hazardous snags from along roadways.

The Black Hills area is under a Red Flag Warning Thursday for winds gusting up to 35 mph and relative humidity in the low teens.

The Schroeder Fire grew by 30 acres Wednesday as firefighters conducted burnout operations to improve fire lines by removing unburned fuel between the lines and the main body of the fire. This slightly increased the fire’s size to 2,195 acres. Approximately 250 personnel are assigned to the fire.


Originally published at 9:50 a.m. MDT March 31, 2021

244 Fire at Mount Rushmore
244 Fire at Mount Rushmore, March 30, 2021. NPS photo.

Firefighters have made progress on the three wildfires in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Schroeder Fire

The largest is the Schroeder Fire just west of Rapid City. It was mapped from an aircraft at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday and was found to have grown to 2,165 acres, an increase of about 260 acres. At that time it had not crossed Highway 44 or South Canyon Road and fire authorities are optimistic that they can keep it between the two roads.

The satellite overflights Tuesday night did not detect any very large heat sources on any of the three fires, but there are likely many locations on the blazes where heavy fuel is still burning or could even be slowly spreading through light fuels. Fire personnel will no doubt be mopping up for several more days, extinguishing logs and deep-seated heat.

Map of the Schroeder Fire
Map of the Schroeder Fire. Data from 4:30 p.m. MDT March 30, 2021.

Most of the Schroeder Fire has burned in the footprint of the Westberry Trails Fire of 1988.

Westberry Trails - Schroeder Fires
Map showing the locations of the Westberry Trails Fire of 1988 and the Schroeder Fire which was mapped March 30, 2021.

244 Fire

The 244 Fire is named after the highway that leads to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Most of the fire’s 90 acres are within the boundary of the 1,200-acre Memorial, with the rest being in the Black Hills National Forest. The National Park Service said the Memorial is still closed today, March 31. There has been no announcement about when it will reopen.

Very little information has been released about the 244 Fire, but the last update at noon on Tuesday said the head of the fire was active, but generally it was “creeping”, moving very slowly.

Black Hills vulnerable to wildfires

Two hours after the Schroeder Fire was reported, the relative humidity increased from 16% to 50% and the temperature dropped 22 degrees, from 68 to 46 degrees. If that had not occurred it is likely that the three fires would have grown much larger, pushed by the very strong winds.

These wildfires occurring on the same day are an example of how vulnerable the Black Hills and the Mount Rushmore area are to fires, a fact often pointed out to advocates of exploding fireworks at the Memorial.

map of 244 Fire at Mount Rushmore
244 Fire at Mount Rushmore. Mapped by Colorado’s MultiMission Aircraft March 29, 2021. Supplied by the Incident Management Team.
Map of the 244 Fire
Map of the 244 Fire and the Keystone Fire, showing heat detected by satellites during the 24-hour period ending at 2:30 a.m. MDT, March 30, 2021. Wildfire Today and NASA.

Keystone Fire

The last update on the Keystone Fire, at 6:30 p.m. March 30, said personnel were “working to get a line around” the 9-acre blaze which is near Keystone. There were plans to have hand crews working on the fire on March 31.

Schroeder Fire, March 30, 2021
Schroeder Fire, March 30, 2021. Photo by Incident Management Team.

Fires in the Black Hills prompt evacuations

Near Rapid City, Mount Rushmore, and Keystone

Updated at 12:25 a.m. MDT March 30, 2021

In a late night update fire officials said one home and two outbuildings are confirmed to have been destroyed by the Schroeder Fire west of Rapid City, SD.

Firefighters are working during the night in the Cleghorn Canyon, Nameless Cave, and Blessed Sacrament Church areas where they are patrolling and securing structures, in addition to the rest of the fire perimeter.


Updated at 9:22 p.m. MDT March 29, 2021

Map of Schroeder Fire
Map of Schroeder Fire, from a mapping flight at 7:30 p.m. March 29, 2020. Map provided by Schroeder Fire Information.

The Schroeder Fire just west of Rapid City, South Dakota was mapped at 1,905 acres at about 7:30 p.m. MDT March 29.

Fire officials said the blaze was reported Monday at 9:22 a.m. in the Schroeder Road subdivision, skipped across the canyon into the Westberry Trials subdivision and the footprint of the Westberry Trails Fire of 1988 .

A cold front with very strong winds came through around noon and pushed the fire south into the neighborhoods of Cleghorn Canyon, Nameless Cave, and Pinedale Heights.

Incident Commander Rob Powell said Monday afternoon that he was optimistic that they can keep the Schroeder Fire from crossing Highway 44.

A map showing evacuation areas is available at the Pennington County website.

The fire is human-caused and still under investigation, but that simply means it was not caused by lightning. Firefighters will staff the fire overnight. Suppression of the fire is a state responsibility, rather than federal.

“We are at record-dry conditions along with high winds playing a major factor in this fight,” said Jay Esperance, Division Director for South Dakota Wildland Fire.

Helicopters and a fixed wing air tanker have been ordered and will be used as needed when weather conditions allow. They can’t be used safely or effectively during strong winds, but a National Guard helicopter was used Monday afternoon after the wind speeds decreased. The Rapid City Air Tanker Base has been activated.


Originally published at 7:25 p.m. MDT March 29, 2021.

Map showing wildfires in the Black Hills
Map showing wildfires in the Black Hills, data from 2:36 p.m. MDT March 29, 2021.

At least three wildfires broke out Monday in the Black Hills of South Dakota. (see the map above)

The largest is the Schroeder Fire just west of Rapid City. Heat detected by a satellite at 2:36 p.m. MDT on Monday showed it to be at least 1,000 acres and primarily between Highway 44 and South Canyon Road. Evacuations are in effect. Officials said between 400 and 500 homes have been evacuated in Rapid City and one home and two outbuildings have been destroyed. A map showing evacuation areas is available at the Pennington County website. Suppression of the fire is a state responsibility, rather than federal.

Schroeder Fire map
Schroeder Fire map, data from 2:36 p.m. MDT March 29, 2021

At 2:36 p.m. Monday, another fire, the 244 Fire, was less than a mile northeast of Mount Rushmore National Memorial and about a mile southwest of Keystone. It has burned 75 to 100 acres and the Memorial is closed. Suppression of the fire is a federal responsibility, rather than state.

A third blaze, the 15-acre Keystone Fire, is about 1.5 miles south of Keystone. It is being suppressed by the state.

Highway 244 is closed at the west boundary of the Memorial, and the Highway 16A entrance is closed at the Keystone and Iron Mountain Boundary.

The fires were driven by low humidity and very strong winds out of the west at 18 to 35 mph. Gusts above 50 mph were recorded at the weather station at Mount Rushmore.

We will update this article as more information becomes available.

Fire in the Black Hills, March 29, 2021
A firefighter conducts a burnout on the 244 Fire near Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, March 29, 2021. Photo courtesy of Great Plains fire information.
Fire in the Black Hills, March 29, 2021
The 244 Fire in the Black Hills near Mount Rushmore, March 29, 2021. Photo courtesy of Great Plains fire information.