Fire has parallels to 2017 blaze

Nearly four years after the Legion Lake wildfire driven by high winds roared through more than 54,000 acres of Custer State Park (CSP), a fire which started in the same general area and under similar conditions was stopped last week after burning just 58 acres.  
According to the South Dakota Wildland Fire Division, the blaze dubbed the Badger Clark Fire was reported at 9:51 Thursday night. The fire was located at the intersection of Hwy. 16A and Needles Hwy., otherwise known as Wilson’s Corner. Just down the road is the turnoff to Badger Clark Road. Winds gusting to over 30 mph were blowing at the time causing some to draw parallels of the 2017 CSP fire.
State, local, and federal firefighters responded and were able to stop forward progress of  the fire by Friday morning.
The cause of the fire is unknown and a fire investigator has been requested.
Jeni Lawver, public information officer for the Wildland Fire Division, said the fact that last week’s fire was in the same area as the 2017 fire actually helped firefighters.
“Since the Legion Lake Fire had consumed the seedlings and small slash,” she said, “this in fact reduced the available fuels on the ground and assisted fire suppression efforts.”
The Legion Lake fire which started on Dec. 11, 2017, was determined to have been started by a power line that was taken down by high winds in the area. The fire burned across the park for more than a week torching 54,023 acres of grass and timber and killing one of the park’s burros. It was the third largest Black Hills wildfire in modern history.