UPDATE (8:20 p.m.) Law enforcement estimates the fire is burning approximately 8 miles east and 6 miles or so north of Harrison near Cottonwood Road.

UPDATE (7:10 p.m.) Spoke with Misty Skavdahl via phone. She said a new shift of firefighters has been sent out and the old crew has not yet arrived back at the fire hall. She said an air suppression team is expected to arrive tonight, possibly from Rapid City or Hot Springs. She also said it is important to advise bystanders and onlookers that they need to steer clear of the fire area for their own safety and for the sake of firefighters. She said there are quite a few people clogging roads, and that it is not a safe area, as the smoke alone is heavy in the air. No injuries due to the fire have been reported. Skavdahl said there is virtually no containment at all yet as the fire is still jumping fire lines. Crawford Fire Chief Brian Prosser has dubbed the fire, The Cottonwood Fire.

 

UPDATE (5:45 p.m.): With the dry, hot, blustery day calming and cooling slightly as evening nears, fire crews are still battling a large fire northeast of Harrison. KCSR news reporter Chris Fankhauser, who is at the Harrison Fire Hall, has spoken with Misty Skavdahl, the Region 23 Emergency Management Deputy. The information that follows comes from there. Skavdahl said the timber and grass fire keeps jumping fire lines, and the fire crews’ main concern is how to get a handle on it. There are six crews working against the fire right now: Harrison, Fort Robinson, Crawford, Chadron, Hot Springs, and Hemingford. Skavdahl says the fire was called in to the Harrison Fire Department about 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning. After fighting the fire for awhile, it was determined that mutual aid was needed. Chadron was called in about 1:30 p.m., and it is unclear when the other agencies were first called in. In addition to trucks and tankers, crews are also working with road graters and caterpillars. 

Skavdahl says the speculation is that the fire was ignited by lightning during Friday’s storm, but that it is not official. The fire is to the northeast of Harrison, out by Cottonwood Road, and appears to have started up near the old Howard place. It is in a canyon, but it’s hard to tell how large it is at this time because the air is quite smoky. Some homes have been evacuated, but no known structures have caught fire. Some of the area that is currently on fire is the same area that burned in 2006.

Skavdahl said they are in the process of getting an air suppression team in the morning and possibly a type 3 team, which is what was used during the Chadron fire in 2006 to call in possible reinforcements from the region and state. Those reinforcements will include professional firefighters to assist with the management of the fire and the general plan of attack, and could include air support.

Fankhauser said there is a good group of volunteers at the Harrison Fire Hall helping get food ready to send out to crews. Skavdahl said volunteers are not yet needed, but food, water, and other supplies are still needed for crews fighting the fire. Gatorade would especially be helpful, and any food that is easy to eat and that won’t melt, such as sandwiches, beef jerky, granola bars, and the like. Also, chapstick, bandannas, and T-shirts of various sizes would be greatly appreciated. These items can be brought directly to the Harrison Fire Hall.

Skavdahl stressed that everything right now is unofficial because they haven’t received an official report back from the crews out in the field; the information is simply what they have gathered up to this point. We will pass on additional information as it becomes available.