RAPID CITY, S.D. – Firefighters hiked through rugged, dark terrain to reach the lightning-caused Buck Fire, which is burning in a remote part of Fall River County.
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety and Pennington County Fire Services both reported that the fire, estimated at 40 to 50 acres, is in an area with no road access.
The Johnson Siding Volunteer Fire Department has sent a two-person crew and a Type 6 Engine to assist with the interagency response, which includes South Dakota Wildland Fire, the US Forest Service, and a helicopter from the National Guard. South Dakota Wildland Fire has also assigned 21 hand crew members and two engines to the blaze.
No structures are threatened and no evacuations have been ordered. The fire is one of several reported recently, serving as a reminder of the constant wildfire threat in the Black Hills and across South Dakota.
August 11 marked the anniversary of the death of Trampus Haskvitz, a firefighter who lost his life fighting the Coal Canyon Fire in Fall River County in 2011.
