Dozens of firefighters are trying to control a wildfire burning on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
The fire started Tuesday and burned overnight. By Wednesday morning, it spanned 200 acres.
The firefighting effort is led by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Diane Mann-Klager is the information officer for the fire.
“It’s been wind-driven, they’ve had 20 mile-per-hour winds with gusts up to 40 miles per hour, so there’s been a lot of wind-driven fire with it running and torching," she said.
The fire was 35 percent contained by Wednesday morning.
It's burning across a mixed landscape of rolling plains and forested draws, 6 miles north of the city of Pine Ridge. Mann-Klager says there is no concern so far that the fire will spread to the city.
There were no injuries or structures burned by the fire as of Wednesday afternoon, although five structures were considered threatened. The firefighting force consists of 73 personnel and two helicopters.
Mann-Klager says the fire is human-caused. The precise ignition source is under investigation.