Custer County Emergency Operations Center

10/09/2026

Please be mindful today! A fire in these conditions will get away fast.

10/07/2026

!! UPDATE!!
Good Morning, due to changes in the weather forecast the USFS, Hell Canyon Ranger District has made the decision to cancel the Schenk RX prescribed fire for Thursday(10/08/26). Fire staff will continue to evaluate future windows for implementation in the following weeks.

09/04/2026

07/27/2026

07/27/2026

***UPDATE*** Local residents can go back to their homes. If you don't live there, please stay out of the area!
If you evacuate, please come to the American Legion in Hermosa to check in.

There is an active wildfire burning at the south end of Bender Ridge Rd. Please stay out of the area and allow ground and air resources to do their work. If you live west of Bender Ridge, south of Battle Creek and east of Triple M Ranch Rd please monitor conditions and evacuate on your own if needed.

07/27/2026

****UPDATE*** There are now fires off 36 and Box Canyon. There are 11 fires in Custer County.

There is also a fire outside of Pringle. Please stay out of all these areas and do not fly drones. If drones are in the air, water support can't be!

07/24/2026

Due to rapidly increasing fire danger, the Bureau of Land Management South Dakota Field Office is implementing Stage 2 Fire Restrictions beginning July 15, 2026. These restrictions apply to all BLM lands within the South Dakota Counties of Butte, Custer, Fall River, Haakon, Harding, Lawrence Meade,....

07/24/2026

Please read for fire restrictions. It's too hot, dry and windy out to be messing around

07/07/2026

This was a close call. With as dry and windy as it is, let's not take any changes. If you see something that seems suspicious, please call it in.

Today units responded to a small wildland fire burning in the the Black Hills National Forest. While there, a unexploded homemade explosive was located. This not only endangered responders, it delayed suppression efforts as the device was dealt with.

Upon further inspection, the explosive appeared to be some type of homemade tannerite and it was made safe in a controlled explosion at a safe location.

This incident serves as a good reminder that just like like campfires and fireworks, exploding targets are illegal in the Black Hills Fire Protection District.

Despite being green, it's very dry. Please follow the law.