Thousand Flee as Fire Sweeps Near Rushmore

CUSTER, S.D. —  A runaway forest fire that swept near Mt. Rushmore before turning aside today charred more than 10,000 acres and prompted evacuation of up to 1,000 residents and tourists near the national memorial, authorities said.

“When we told them (residents and campers) it was burning 1,000 acres per hour . . . and it was three miles away, they kind of believed us,” said Sgt. Howard Brunner of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Department, who helped evacuate the town of Keystone late Wednesday.

The blaze, which shot billows of smoke so high its pall was visible 160 miles away, also threatened the park’s Game Lodge, summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge. No structures have been destroyed.

3 Miles From Park

“It’s a very serious situation,” Jerry Hagen, fire information officer with the U.S. Forest Service, said early today. The fire in Custer State Park and the Black Hills National Forest was within three miles of Mt. Rushmore before switching directions and heading south.

“The fire behavior was so extreme and erratic that the fire line was lost several times” during the night, forcing firefighters to retreat, state forestry spokesman Richard Hohmann said.

Pennington County sheriff’s officials knocked on doors in the tourist town of Keystone and at the memorial asking people to leave early today, Hagen said. He estimated between 300 and 400 people were being evacuated; 600 were evacuated earlier from Custer State Park.

Solid Line of Cars

“There was a continuous line of cars from Keystone to Rapid City, but from all reports it went smoothly,” Hagen said.

Keystone, about two miles from Mt. Rushmore, has only about 300 residents, but it attracts thousands of tourists. A National Guard official in Custer estimated Wednesday night that 1,500 to 2,000 people would have to leave the area because it is the height of the tourist season.

Employees who work at Mt. Rushmore and park officials also were asked to leave, but returned later in the morning when the fire changed course.