Silver Mountain Fire Update and current conditions in the Black Hills

ROCKERVILLE, S.D. (KELO) –The Silver Mountain Fire near Rockerville is still burning.

It sparked just before noon yesterday.

Yesterday’s Silver Mountain Fire started at 0.1 acre and grew to 22 acres rather quickly. And thankfully today, with all the fast action on the ground and in the air, it’s up to 75% containment.

Fire closes Needles Highway, Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park

“And we all work just super closely out here and I think yesterday’s attack and stop of the fire at 22 acres is absolutely huge, and it just shows how well all of our resources work together,” Rockerville Fire Chief Gail Schmidt said.

The current fire danger in the Black Hills is extreme, with strong winds and dry conditions.

“Today, completely different conditions. We’re under red flag warnings today and through the weekend it’s going to be pretty doggone blustery with available fuels. Meaning that all the fuels out here available are able to burn. There’s very little green component in any of the fuels out here. All the dead and down you see, fire will want to move through it rapidly,” Forest Fuels Specialist Chris Stover said.

“We’re looking at fine-dead fuel moistures that are 2%. I mean a sheet of paper is what 7%. The wind conditions are critical for us. Red flag warnings today and tomorrow, we’re an extreme category for fire conditions,” Schmidt said.

Rifle elk season is underway, so the forest is urging hunters and everyone else to be careful. 

“This is a great time of the year to be in the woods. We’ve got great colors, but folks really need to be cognizant of where they are, how deep the grass is and where their exhaust pipe is in relation to that,” Stover said.

With these dry conditions, this will continue to be a concern from the fire service until rain or snow consistently comes through.