ROCKERVILLE, S.D. – Fire crews from surrounding agencies battled a wildfire late Saturday afternoon that led to the temporary evacuations of some homes outside Rockerville.
The South Rockerville Fire was reported just before 3:00 p.m. about a mile northeast of Keystone.
Rockerville units supported Battle Creek Fire on the wildland fire which was located just north and west of the S Rockerville Rd and Hwy 40 intersections.
Due to the dry conditions and gusty NW winds, evacuations were in place for a few hours.
Resources from throughout Pennington County as well as USFS and State units were on scene. Solid work from all resources allowed this fire to be held at 39 acres.
Resources remained on scene overnight and into Sunday. Fire officials say they did not receive much for moisture on the fire when a cold front came through Saturday afternoon.
In a Facebook Post, Pennington County Fire Service said “We realize the GO notifications for evacuations were quick and without warning. However, the fire started and the winds picked it up and pushed it toward the housing developments quickly. There wasn’t time for any heads up. Units arrived on scene and the fire was already moving. We are sorry that lives were disrupted, but we are happy that no structures were lost in the initial response.”
