The Rankin Fire in Wind Cave National Park is now 90 percent contained.
Federal, state, and local agencies are battling the blaze. The fire has burned about 1,200 acres in steep and rocky terrain east of South Dakota Highway 87 and south of National Park Service Road 5.
Tom Farrell is a public information officer for the Rankin Fire. He says the fire is located away from populated areas:
"The fire is located in the northern part of the park, basically just south of the border we have with Custer State Park. It's been burning in steep and rugged terrain in a grass and timber fuel mixture. One nice thing about this fire was that it started in the northern part of the park and it's been burning to the south. So, it's just been burning deeper into the interior of the park - meaning there's no structures threatened, no evacuations needed," Farrell says.
?Farrell says the northern section of NPS Road 5 and backcountry hiking trails north of Wind Cave Canyon are closed. He says the park's tour services and visitor center remain open.
Farrell says lightning is believed to have caused the fire.