Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — In the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District, crews are currently working on mitigation throughout the area.
Residents wanting to do their own slash piles and burns can do so with a permit and must follow some guidelines.
Open burning is allowed in the Black Hills from November 1st through March 31st with a permit, but there must be at least two inches of snow on the ground.
“More importantly is the temperature forecast after that two inches of snow. THis time of year, especially the shorter seasons you know, November, March, where you know it’s 50 degrees outside and we might get some snow next week. The forecast has some snow but then two days later it’s going to be 50 degrees, those aren’t the two-inch snows that we’re talking about,” SD Wildland Fire Director Jay Wickham said.
Burn piles need to be around 4-5 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter.
As we are transitioning from Fall into Winter, these fire crews are out here in the Black Hills every single day creating new slash piles to help with the mitigation.
This process removes fallen obstacles and creates more room between trees.
“We thinned it all out, now we have these piles back here right and if we don’t get them burned and we have a fire come through here, we’ve thinned it out and reduced the canopy right but then we have all these piles that are going to generate heat during a fire. So it’s important for people to get their permits, plan ahead, look at the forecast, and take those opportunities we have,” Wickham said.
A little work this winter could protect homes and businesses in the Black Hills long into the future.
South Dakota Wildland Fire provides access to burn permits online. They also have videos with tips to help you with each step of the pile-burning process.
