The First Thunder Fire on the outskirts of Rapid City remains at zero percent containment and has grown to 155 acres. However, with additional hands, fire and safety officials are confident in the next few days.
The fire is burning near Dark Canyon, a heavily populated area bordering the Black Hills National Forest, Rapid Creek, and Rapid City proper.
Incident commander Brandon Sanchez said if not for the reinforcements and inter-agency work, the shape of this fire could be very different.
“If you didn’t have the cohesion we have in South Dakota this fire, honestly, would not be where it is," Sanchez said. "To my honest opinion, Hisega would be evacuated, part of west Rapid City might be evacuated. Yes, the weather helped, but with the unified command and all the resources we have – you can not do it alone here.”
Alongside air resources, crews have come from as far as New Mexico, Arizona, and Oregon. In total, 150 hands are now digging lines and extinguishing fires.
Dark Canyon is under a pre-evacuation warning, alongside Red Rocks and the Sheridan Lake areas, the most heavily populated areas directly adjacent to the fire.
Rapid City mayor Jason Salamun said the situation changes in city government when lives are at stake.
“Obviously, you put a big priority on imminent danger on the doorstep of your community," Salamun said. "Of course, we care about the surrounding areas, so it was on our radar quickly. We are communicating with our partners and agencies to make sure for one we’re here as a resource, and two to make sure we get information to share with our citizens.”
As it stands, fire officials say they’re optimistic the fire will be controlled in the coming days. As the fire gets mopped up, residents of the Black Hills can expect smoke in the sky and poor air quality for the next week at least.
While career firefighters coming from the other side of the country and dramatic air drops get much of the attention, that’s not the whole story of a fire.
Without volunteer firefighters, many situations would be significantly worse.
“Its hard to realize, but the VFDs make a big part," Sanchez said. "Pennington County has 13 VFDs, and they’re all needed. This call comes out, they send out the page, and all these engines just come out of the woodwork, and they don’t quit. They have their day jobs, but they won’t quit until you say hey, we don’t need you anymore.”
However, there’s a critical problem facing this key segment of the firefighting chain.
“We’re getting less and less of them each year. Just throwing this out, if you want to join a volunteer department, they’re there," Sanchez said. "They’ll take you, they’ll train you up, you’ll get the experiences of dealing with fire and a lot of other experiences, but they’re a necessity.”
During the last legislative session, House Bill 1127 granted millions of dollars to state volunteer fire departments. These grant dollars funded well over 200 VFDs in every corner of South Dakota.