High fire danger ignites Southern Hills

With record-pushing heat, worsening drought conditions across Custer County and dwindling moisture that often comes with lightning, fire season is beginning to take a turn for the worse. This week saw several fires across the area, all of which are now contained.
A wildfire at Bismarck Lake broke out and was reported at 11:55 p.m. Thursday, leading to evacuation of over 150 people at Camp Bob Marshall, many of them children attending a summer camp. Campers at Camp Bob Marshall were transported to Custer High School about 1 a.m.
The fire occurred on public Forest Service land near the Bismarck Lake parking lot and campground, and the cause is still under investigation. Later Friday morning, the fire was contained but not before spreading to four-and-a-half acres. Evacuations were lifted and traffic to the lake was reopened as of 7 a.m. and the fire was contained as of 3 p.m.
The Custer, Pringle and Argyle volunteer fire departments, South Dakota Wildland Fire and the U.S. Forest Service responded to the fire. No injuries were reported.
On Saturday, the Limestone Fire blazed through 13.4 acres of Wind Cave National Park. The park’s engine crew spotted the fire at 12:42 p.m. as it spread to burn grass and timber along a ridgetop about two miles northwest of the visitor center. The fire was caused by a lightning strike during the previous night’s storm.
Crews from Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota Wildland Fire, Black Hawk Fire Department and Sioux Falls Fire Rescue worked on the fire with five engines and one hand crew. Two aircraft from the Black Hills National Forest and a single engine airtanker operating out of the tanker base at the Hot Springs Municipal Airport dropped water on the fire, and firefighters remained on-scene throughout the night to prevent the fire from jumping control lines during a high wind event. As of Monday, it was 90 percent contained.
All of the Black Hills is under very high fire danger,  meaning fires start easily from any cause, can spread rapidly and increase quickly in intensity.
Most of the county is  also under either moderate or severe drought with a combination of above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation. June’s precipitation was down 2.36 inches from normal, making it the driest June in over 130 years according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that drought conditions are going to continue to develop or persist into the future.
Other fires reported in Custer County include:
• The Lagoon Fire was reported July 26 at 11:57 am. one mile southwest of Hermosa. State and local resources responded to the 0.1 acre fire which was human-caused and is now controlled.
• The Big Tree Fire was  ignited by lightning and was reported July 26 at   7:51 p.m. two miles northeast of Custer. State and local resources responded to the 0.1 acre fire which is contained and controlled.
• The Spring Fire was reported July 29 at 12:03 p.m. eight miles north of Hermosa west of Hwy 79, south of Spring Creek Road. Federal and local resources responded to the fire, which is cause is still under investigation. It was 0.10 acres.