Wind Cave NP Archives - Page 2 of 4

Wind Cave antelope

Bill GabbertJune 13, 2015June 15, 2015UncategorizedCold Brook Fire, Photo by Bill G, Wind Cave NP

In a quick trip to Wind Cave National Park this evening I ran across pronghorn antelope, elk, and of course bison. Here’s one of them.

This guy is standing in the location of the April 13, 2015 prescribed fire. The critters in the park are enjoying the lush green grass that has come back.

Photo by Bill Gabbert.

Comparison photos, 6 days and 39 days after escaped prescribed fire

Bill GabbertMay 22, 2015May 23, 2015Uncategorizedescaped prescribed fire, Photo by Bill G, prescribed fire, South Dakota, Wind Cave NP8 Comments

Cold Brook Fire — Highway 385, which can be seen in the distance, was supposed to be the boundary of the prescribed fire. Only the land on the far side of the highway was planned to burn.

These photos were taken by Bill Gabbert in the area burned when the April 13 Cold Brook prescribed fire escaped in Wind Cave National Park. In each pair of pictures, the first was taken on April 19, 6 days after the fire, and the next was taken on May 22, 39 days after the fire.

Wind Cave National Park bounces back from escaped prescribed fire

Bill GabbertMay 22, 2015May 22, 2015Uncategorizedescaped prescribed fire, Photo by Bill G, prescribed fire, South Dakota, Wind Cave NP1 Comment

With copious rain over the last five weeks since the Cold Brook prescribed fire escaped control in Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota on April 13, the additional 5,000 acres outside the planned burn unit is in serious green-up. Most of the “bonus acres” had been treated at least once with previous prescribed fires, so there was not a heavy build up of fuel within the timbered areas. The escape, even though it was pushed by a strong wind, did not have high mortality in the Ponderosa pines. Most of the areas we saw near U.S. Highway 385 look like a typical prescribed fire in the park, however there were a few patches of pine that were taken out.

All of the photos below were taken by Bill Gabbert on May 22, 2015, 39 days after the fire. Click on the photos to see larger versions.

Wind Cave National Park prescribed fire — The bison are enjoying the nutrient-rich fresh green grass in the burned area. The one in the foreground is wallowing in dirt.

Cold Brook prescribed fire escapes in South Dakota
Comparison photos, 6 days and 39 days after escaped prescribed fire

Cold Brook prescribed fire escapes in South Dakota (updated with post-fire photos)

Bill GabbertApril 13, 2015August 25, 2019UncategorizedCold Brook Fire, escaped prescribed fire, Photo by Bill G, prescribed fire, South Dakota, Wind Cave NP21 Comments

(UPDATED at 4 p.m. April 19, 2015)

After being out of town for a while, today we saw the Cold Brook escaped prescribed fire in Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota for the first time. Our initial impression was that a very small percentage of the Ponderosa Pine trees lost their canopies to the fire; the mortality was very low. This is largely due to a series of prescribed fires that were conducted in the area about 13 to 16 years ago. Those burns eliminated some trees and “raised the canopy” on many; that is, some of the lower limbs were burned off reducing the ladder fuels that could later carry a fire into the crowns.

Approximately 5,420 acres burned outside the prescribed fire unit, all within the National Park.

The fire would have burned private land outside the park if the Casey Ranch south of the park had not been added a few years ago. The fire burned quite a few acres east of Highway 385 and south of the former park boundary.

In that area, a residence that remains on private land had the fire burn right up to their back yard, as you can see in the photo below.

When the fire escaped, it ran to the east for about four to five miles.

All of these photos in today’s update were taken by Bill Gabbert. Click on them to see larger versions.

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Continue reading “Cold Brook prescribed fire escapes in South Dakota (updated with post-fire photos)”

Wind Cave NP conducts 1,000 acre prescribed fire

Bill GabbertApril 13, 2015June 15, 2015UncategorizedCold Brook Fire, prescribed fire, South Dakota, Wind Cave NP2 Comments

prescribed fire Wind Cave NP — Cold Brook #2 prescribed fire in Wind Cave National Park, April 13, 2015. Photo provided by Great Plains Fire Info.

(UPDATE at 9:40 p.m. MDT, April 13, 2015: the prescribed fire escaped and burned an additional 5,420 acres.)

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(Originally published at 2:21 p.m. MDT, April 13, 2014)

On Monday April 13 employees at Wind Cave National Park began igniting another 1,000 acres of the Cold Brook prescribed fire project in the southwest corner of the park about 5 miles north of Hot Springs, South Dakota. It was started in October, but could not be finished at that time because of weather and vegetation conditions.

Norbeck prescribed fire — three months later

Bill GabbertJanuary 27, 2015January 28, 2015UncategorizedCuster State Park, Norbeck prescribed fire, Photo by Bill G, South Dakota, Wind Cave NP3 Comments

With the temperature approaching 70 degrees Tuesday afternoon I could not resist the urge to blow some cobwebs off my motorcycle. I cruised into Wind Cave National Park and took some photos with portions of the Norbeck Prescribed Fire in the background. The first and third photos were taken last fall on October 20 and 21, while the second and fourth were shot today, January 27, 2015.

The first and second, and the third and fourth photos show approximately the same areas.