If you’re driving through the Back Hills you may notice signs warning that fire danger is high. Although South Dakota experienced a wet summer it didn’t take long for the ground to dry out.
High winds and little moisture have made many parts of the state susceptible to wildfire.
Darren Clabo is the South Dakota Fire Meteorologist. He says the state is expected to remain at risk though the winter.
“We’ve had two or three great growing seasons and so there’s just a lot of grass and a lot of fine fuels that are out there to carry fire. Going into this winter, it’s a big El Nino year. For the northern Great Plains South Dakota that generally means warmer than average temperatures. And it can go either way, above or below average precipitation,” says Clabo.
He says if the state doesn’t see much snow, then fuels could continue to be a problem.
“The biggest thing for us in the winter time is monitoring burn piles, making sure that if you are out burning brush that there is snow on the ground and that you are just monitoring those burn piles. Because it doesn’t take but one afternoon to melt off all the snow and then those higher, taller grasses become available for fire. You could loose a fire really quickly. So just be vigilant and make sure your fires out if you leave it,” Clabo says.
Clabo says people should be careful when outdoors and take care of their property to help prevent fires in coming months.