News Release

Rankin Fire Update 9/14/2017

Date: September 14, 2017
Contact: Tom Farrell, 605-574-1725

Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black

Shane Greer, Incident Commander
 
Information Center: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
 
Current Situation: At 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 14, Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black assumed command of the Rankin Fire from a local Type 3 management team. The fire was first reported on Monday afternoon and was caused by a lightning strike in the northern part of Wind Cave National Park. Firefighters from multiple agencies have been working to contain the fire since Tuesday. On Wednesday night, crews were able to construct fire line and conduct a firing operation to get containment on the south portion of the fire.
 
On Thursday, crews will be patrolling the established containment lines and mopping up hot spots.
                                                                                       
Weather: On Thursday, the temperature is again expected to be around 80 degrees with relative humidity around 20 to 25 percent. Winds will be north to northeast 5 to 8 for most of the day. Cloud cover will increase through the day and scattered thunderstorms may develop in the afternoon.  Wetting rains are expected over the fire late Thursday into Friday.
 
Safety: Travelers along US Highway 385 and State Route 87 through the park are encouraged to use caution as fire traffic will continue to be heavy along this corridor at times. At times smoke will impact roads in the park and visitors are urged to slow down and use caution.
 
Closures: NPS 5, from the junction of State Route 87 to the junction of NPS 6, and all trails north of and including Wind Cave Canyon Trail are closed for firefighter and visitor safety.


Fire Statistics:
Start Date: 09/11/2017
Location: 12 miles Southeast of Custer, SD
Cause: Lightning
Size: 1192 acres   
Containment: 90%  

For More Information:

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5613
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WindCaveNPS/  
Info Line: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]