A fire burning in the Black Elk Wilderness just south east of Black Elk Peak is estimated at 7.6 acres, which is a growth of about 2 to 4 acres from Thursday.
Forest service officials say the fire is fifty percent contained. It’s burning heavy dead and downed timber in steep and remote terrain.
Tracy Anderson is the Hell Canyon District Ranger. Because of the fire’s proximity to several popular hiking and tourism spots, she says the strategy is to put the fire out.
“Larger wilderness areas in different parts of the country, they have different strategies,” Anderson says. “It all has to do with potential risk factors you’re looking at. For us, our strategy is to put that out because of risk to human life just because people use the area. Would it be good to get rid of some of that stuff on the ground? Sure, but it’s not worth the risk to other folks.”
The Forest Service has issued an emergency closure order. They say the public should not enter the area until the order has been lifted. That’s put in place for both public and firefighter safety.
A temporary flight restriction is in place over Black Elk Peak.
The use of helicopter bucket drops are aiding firefighter efforts along the perimeter. Officials say the cause of fire was a lightning strike on Monday.
The Forest service will rescind the closures once the fire is 100 percent contained.