Fire burns 5000 acres at Wanblee Timber Fire

The town cringed when the fire alarm sounded late in the afternoon on Sunday, July 16. It was not long before fire crews and neighbors arrived from neighboring towns to help fight the blaze that began northwest of the junction of South Dakota Highways 77 and 44. With the drought conditions and wind, despite the efforts of those working against the blaze, the fire quickly traveled north into the heavy timbers. Without access to fight the fire in this area, air resources of slurry planes and a Chinook helicopter with a bucket arrived to help. Monday night saw some rain and although it did help, it was not enough to extinguish the fire. Crews were very successful in saving some homes that were threatened. As of late Tuesday morning, the fire continued to burn but was considered to be at 50 percent contained and estimated at 5,000 acres burned.