A wildfire that’s grown to more than 11 square miles near the city of Custer in South Dakota’s Black Hills had not caused any injuries as of Saturday night but had damaged about 10 properties, the Custer County Sheriff’s Office said.
The damage ranges from sheds and garages “all the way up to some homes being lost,” said Sgt. Derrick Reifenrath in a video update on Facebook about the Qury Fire. He said local road closures remained in effect and asked for patience as firefighting continued and hazards from heavy smoke and potentially falling trees remained.
But he said authorities would be allowing some people to visit their property if they pick up a tag at the Custer County Search and Rescue office. The tag will allow them to legally go around barricades, Reifenrath said.
He issued a warning to operators of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles who were illegally driving on areas of the forest that firefighters cleared with bulldozers. “You will be stopped, your name will be given to the Forest Service, and I assure you that they will prosecute you on that,” Reifenrath said.
What he called “dozer cuts” are parts of a vegetation-free line that firefighters are trying to achieve around the fire to halt its progress. Other segments could consist of lines cut by hand with shovels, as well as roads and natural barriers such as streams and rock outcroppings.
By Sunday morning, authorities said the firefighting force had grown to about 280 personnel. They estimated 2% of the fire was contained, while snow and higher humidity that moved into the area Saturday were expected to aid firefighting efforts, to a point. Too much snow could hinder firefighters’ movements, said the U.S. Forest Service’s Adam Ziegler during a Custer community meeting livestreamed to Facebook on Saturday.
