SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

NEWS RELEASE

 For Immediate Release: October 11, 2013

Media Contact: Jeni Lawver, 605.381.7232

SD Wildland Fire Personnel Assist with Winter Storm Atlas Clean-Up

RAPID CITY, S.D. -  As Western South Dakota continues to recover from the backlash of Winter Storm Atlas, South Dakota Wildland Fire Division has been aiding in clean-up efforts. 

The Bear Mountain and Black Hat Hand Crews along with a Rapid City Field Office Engine Crew and other Division personnel have been assisting in recovery efforts. 

Members of the Student Conservation Association Veterans Fire Corps are also helping and gaining valuable on-the-job training. This group was originally assigned to work on the Black Hills National Forest, but has been shut down due to the government furlough.   

Through cooperation with the National Forest, the Wildland Fire Division was able to incorporate their services into this undertaking. 

Crews are cutting and removing low-hanging and hazardous material to make the public right-a-ways safer for pedestrians and traffic. 

Robert Nordlee, crew boss for the Black Hat Hand Crew said, “This has personally affected all of us and we’re happy to assist in the interagency efforts to clean up our home town.”

This past spring, members from the Bear Mountain and Black Hat Hand Crews successfully assisted the City of Sioux Falls to clean streets and neighborhoods during Operation Timber Strike when they experienced a devastating spring snow and ice storm. 

South Dakota Wildland Fire can be found on Twitter @SDWildlandFire and on Facebook by searching SD Wildland Fire Division.

Agriculture is South Dakota's No. 1 industry, generating over $21 billion in annual economic activity and employing more than 122,000 South Dakotans. The South Dakota Department of Agriculture's mission is to promote, protect, preserve and improve this industry for today and tomorrow. Visit us online at http://sdda.sd.gov or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SDAgDept and Twitter @SDAgriculture.

-30-