Hotspots! County resources battle blazes in all directions
Photo courtesy of Daniel Tysdal Weston County Fire Protection District responded to a fire near Ertman Road in the Four Corners area on Aug. 5. The fire was contained fairly quickly, according to Weston County Fire Warden Daniel Tysdal, who said they had great crews on scene. Pictured is a plane dropping slurry over the fire.
Weston County resources have responded to over 30 incidents in the past month, according to Daniel Tysdal, Weston County fire warden. These incidents, he said, have burned over 478 acres in Weston County.
In addition to fighting local fires, Weston County resources have been able to help in Niobrara and Crook counties, as well as in South Dakota, and the blazes may be picking up in intensity. Over the past weekend county crews have been battling blazes closer to home, as Weston County resources responded to a pair of challenging burns in the Wildcat Creek fire in Campbell County and the Horsethief Fire in Weston County.
Wildcat Creek fire
While the Wildcat Creek fire was generally burning roughly 1 mile from the Weston County line, Tysdal said, Weston County resources responded to the fire. He noted that the fire did breach into Weston County at one time, and that public and private property were both singed.
“It did breach into Weston County, mostly on national grasslands,” Tysdal said in a phone call from the Horsethief fire line. “Some private land was involved as well.”
Weston County resources, he added, helped for three different days on Aug. 2, 3 and 4, and they were told when leaving on Aug. 4 that they would not be needed on Aug. 5.
The fire was originally reported at 3:34 a.m. on Aug. 2, according to the Courier Post, which noted that the fire was burning 22 miles southeast of Wright near Rochelle Hills.
According to Tysdal, the final size for the fire will be 18,775 acres. He told the News Letter Journal via text that this was the final count as of 4:05 p.m. on Aug. 5.
Horsethief fire
It was fortunate that local crews were no longer needed on the blaze southwest of Newcastle because Weston County resources were asked to respond to an incident northeast of town — in the area of Ertman Road, near Four Corners — shortly after 11 a.m. on Aug. 5 as a result of reports of a fire in the area, according to Tysdal.
On-site, as of Aug. 5 at 3:30 p.m., were eight engines, three tenders, one dozer, one blade, two helicopters, four-seat planes and two large air tankers. He noted that there were also four “overhead” or managers on the scene helping to direct activities.
Tysdal reported that South Dakota Black Cats, a hand crew, also had 27 people on-site.
“We have good resources on the fire and if we continue to have good luck we should have the fire contained by 21:00 to 22:00 hours,” Tysdal said. “It is looking pretty good right now.”
At the time, the fire was held at 4.4 acres, with roughly 80% of the fire lined. He noted that despite the potential for the fire to be contained by late on Aug. 5, mopping up of the area would take several days.