The Galena Fire Chronology

For several months before the Galena Fire, the region was unusually hot and dry. Average annual precipitation in this region is 18 inches, but only 11 inches fell in the Park during the 12 months before the fire. A large lightning storm passed over the Black Hills on the evening of July 4, 1988, and on the morning of July 5, staff at Mount Coolidge firetower spotted smoke in a remote section of the Park near Galena Creek, prompting immediate suppression efforts. The fire burned out of control, threatened Park buildings, and forced evacuations from lodges and campgrounds. More than a thousand firefighters worked around the clock for 4 days to block the spread of the flames. Late in the afternoon of July 8, a rain and hail storm helped control the fire. By the following day, firefighters had built fireline around 90 percent of the fire, and by the evening of July 9, it was fully contained with mop-up efforts well underway.

South Dakota · United States