Federal, state, and local firefighters continue to battle the Legion Lake Fire. Officials with Custer State Park say the fire has claimed about 45,000 acres. Authorities say the fire is ten percent contained. The blaze began in the park on Monday and grew quickly Tuesday night due to high winds.
Evacuation orders have been lifted for all areas east of South Dakota Highway 78 in Custer County. This includes the towns of Fairburn and Buffalo Gap.
Evacuation orders are still in effect for the Tatanka Spirit subdivision northwest of Buffalo Gap and for Custer State Park.
The fire has also stretched into Wind Cave National Park.
Scott Rudge with the National Weather Service in Rapid City says winds are expected to blow from the northwest from 10 to 15 miles per hour tonight. He says windy conditions return on Thursday.
"Just some briefly gusty winds overnight at times, again the winds will come back up again on Thursday, and then finally later Thursday evening, Thursday night, winds in general will be less than 10 miles per hour. Additionally, it will be cooler on Thursday - that should help a little bit," Rudge says.
Rudge says a front approaching the area will provide snowfall for the northern Black Hills tonight and Thursday, but no accumulation is expected in the fire area. He says this weekend looks more promising.
"Then when we get into Friday, the winds will still remain fairly light but we'll be warmer on this side of the state. Highs in the 40s, maybe lower 50s. But, then as we get into Saturday, it looks like the next system comes in, and actually it looks like a little bit better of a chance that we'll get some relatively decent moisture in the fire area," Rudge says.
Custer State Park public information officer Lydia Austin says the park remains closed until at least Friday. Austin says no main buildings in the park have been destroyed, and no injuries have been reported.
Officials with the State Department of Transportation say sections of South Dakota Highway 87 and US Route 16-A near Custer State Park are closed. DOT officials say a part of State Highway 79 from Maverick Junction to Hermosa has been reopened.
