Cottonwood Fire Update

Wall, S.D. - Just before 1 pm today, October 16, a wildland fire was reported 11 miles east of Wall, SD. The area was under a Red Flag Warning at the time for low relative humidity, high winds and high temps. Under these conditions, the fire spread quickly.

This release represents the most accurate information as of 8:30 pm MDT. Additional releases are not anticipated this evening unless conditions warrant. A media briefing will take place at 7 am MDT at the Incident Command Post located at the Minuteman Missile Visitor Center just north of I-90 at Exit 131.

The fire is currently being managed by the Pennington County Type 3 Incident Management Team (PCIMT3) and is under Unified Command. Brian Daunt of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, Wall, S.D. Fire Chief John Kitterman, Jackson County Emergency Manager Joshua Nisen, and Rob Lehmann of the Pennington County Incident Management Team are commanding the incident. The PCIMT3 took over management of the fire around 6 pm MDT.

The fire is called the Cottonwood Fire. The fire is currently located 11 miles east of Wall, SD to 10 miles south east of Cottonwood, SD and north of I-90. 

The fire is currently between 5,000 and 6,000 acres. This mapping was done by aircraft at 6:00 pm. More accurate mapping will take place tomorrow and may result in changes in acreage. 

The fire is currently 0% contained.

As of 8:30 pm, we can confirm that structures have been lost. As of 8:30 pm, it is unknown whether any primary residences are among those structures lost. There are a number of structures still threatened.

In addition to structures being lost, power lines were damaged during the fire. A power outage has occurred in the area. Rural Electric Cooperatives are working to resolve the issue.

The PCIMT3 is aware that a vehicle crash occurred during the fire in the area of mile marker 125. The extent of injuries is unknown to the team at this time.

The fire is burning on private and Federal land.

There are no road closures in effect at this time. Motorists on I-90 are asked to use caution as visibility from smoke may cause intermittent decreases in visibility. The fire will be clearly visible overnight to travelers on I-90. Drivers are asked to remain alert and do not be distracted by the fire. Additionally, there is a high volume of emergency vehicle traffic between Kadoka and Wall on I-90. Travelers in this area should remain alert for the increased traffic.

Close to 300 firefighters are working on this fire. Firefighters from Pennington, Lawrence, Meade, Custer, Haakon, Jackson, Jones, Mellette, Bennett, and Stanley Counties are on scene.

Suppression activities will continue throughout the night.  

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The next media briefing will occur at 7 am. The next update will not occur until that time unless significant activity occurs.

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