News Release

Prescribed Burn Planned at Mount Rushmore

Date: April 28, 2020
Contact: Maureen McGee-Ballinger, 605-574-3115

KEYSTONE, S.D. – Mount Rushmore National Memorial will implement a prescribed burn on Wednesday, April 29 to reduce accumulated fuels in support of the park’s fire management plan. The burn will be ignited within developed areas of the Memorial and will cover approximately 260 acres.

The burn objective is to reduce the build-up of dead fuels, in order to reduce the chance of higher severity fires. Visitors could experience drifting smoke and haze throughout the burn period and into the following evening. Those with smoke sensitivity are advised to be cautious when visiting the Memorial.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial has successfully completed several fuel-reducing projects in the past, to prevent or slow the growth of wildfires. These projects have primarily included mechanical thinning and pile burning. This week’s broadcast burn will allow the Memorial to reduce fuels across a larger area and will be conducted under approved prescription conditions. Factors such as humidity, fuel moisture, wind speed and direction, and weather forecasts are all considered in establishing the acceptable conditions for conducting a prescribed fire. If the prescribed set of conditions are not met, the fire will be postponed.