Bear Butte Burning

Jan 30, 2018

A weekend fire, reportedly caused by debris that escaped from a nearby rancher's burn pile, scorched 150 acres on the north side of Bear Butte, near Sturgis. Firefighters, aided by an inch of snow that fell Sunday morning, had the blaze under control about 15 hours after it was initially reported. No buildings were damaged and none of the animals in the Bear Butte State Park bison herd were injured. John Mitchell captured these images as the blaze burned.

Comments

10:00 am - Fri, February 9 2018

Lisa said:

Awesome shots, John!

02:45 pm - Fri, February 9 2018

Darlene Kutzler said:

I was worried about that barn when I read about the fire at Bear Butte. I have photographed it before and was hoping it didn't burn. That is a great photo! Very dramatic.

03:31 am - Mon, February 12 2018

Helle Coretto said:

I was worried about what was happening to Bear Butte. I have been hiking there severel times and are aware of the wildlife there, and that Bear Butte is a sacred place for Native American indians. How bad was the fire for the mountain?

06:09 pm - Thu, March 22 2018

Mikel Paulson said:

Well, I suppose all the 'stuff' that was left on the mountain is finally gone - the mountain will return prettier than ever - all that new grass, etc. after the big burn. Sometimes fire is the best thing for stuff - a great way to clean house.