Posted on 07/02/2002 5:13:39 AM PDT by petuniasevan
Deadwood reopens; fire keeps Lead residents out
By Denise Ross, Journal Staff Writer
DEADWOOD -- The historic city of Deadwood reopened at 8 p.m. Monday after a wildfire forced its total evacuation Saturday afternoon.
Residents of Lead, many of whom evacuated Sunday afternoon, were not allowed to go home due to concerns that the Grizzly Gulch Fire could once again threaten neighbors in the south part of town.
"We really just need room to move," Lead Mayor Tom Nelson said, explaining that firefighters were more worried about their ability to respond quickly than about structures burning.
"If the winds shift, it could be a very dramatic problem in Lead," Gov. Bill Janklow said.
At a 6 p.m. brief, fire crews were told that forecast rain was headed south of the fire. However, news otherwise was mostly good. Officials said they were expecting temperatures in the high 50s, about 50 percent humidity and light winds overnight.
In most areas the fire was expected to burn back onto itself, the opposite of what it did overnight Sunday, when it grew from 4,500 acres to 6,200 acres.
The most active part of the fire was on the east front, where a free-burning fire jumped parts of a bulldozer line and had advanced to Bear Den Mountain. Fire officials were planning scouting missions and an infrared assessment from the air overnight.
Crews at the briefing were told to secure as many fire lines as possible throughout the night so that most resources today could be directed to the eastern front.
Crews specializing in protecting structures were told to focus on the community of Galena and parts of Strawberry Hill.
Janklow spent the afternoon and evening observing the fire from the air, talking with fire commanders and coordinating the plan to lift the evacuation order for Deadwood, he said.
The Yellow Creek power substation, owned by Black Hills Power & Light Co., was threatened by fire, and Janklow said he organized a backup power supply even though the threat was not major Monday evening. Because that substation serves all of Lead, Deadwood and the Homestake Mine, the loss of the all-metal substation would be catastrophic, Janklow said.
The substation powers Homestake's 5,000-gallon-per-hour water pumps and ventilation system.
"If that went down, after 10 hours, Homestake Mine would never reopen again," Janklow said.
State and federal officials hope to establish a national underground science laboratory in the former gold mine.
The governor visited also the former Brohm Mining Corp. mine site near Galena, where the fire burned to Gilt Edge Road and then started burning back on itself. Slurry bombers were dropping loads on active fire about 1 mile north of Brohm and Janklow said fire crews were not worried about chemicals burning at the former Gilt Edge Mine, now a national hazardous waste site.
Throughout early Monday, smoke hampered aerial scouting missions, fire information officer Mark Johnston said.
"There were issues where they didn't really know where the fire was at," he said. Winds eased Monday afternoon and aerial observers were better able to see hotspots.
Also Monday, the Lead City Commission officially called off the Gold Camp Jubilee July 4 celebration. However, Mayor Nelson said plans are to reschedule an event later this summer.
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