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Black Hills National Forest

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US Forest Service
Black Hills National Forest
1019 N. 5th Street
Custer, SD 57730
605-673-9200

Telephone for the
Hearing Impaired
605-673-9227

Jasper Fire

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Jasper Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Jasper Fire Rapid Assessment Report - Full Version
Jasper Fire Rapid Assessment Report - Text Version

This page summarizes the facts of the Jasper Fire, which started on the Black Hills National Forest on August 24, 2000. Jasper was the largest fire to occur in the Black Hills in at least a century.

Rehabilitation of fire lines and burned areas is under way. This site will follow rehab efforts as they progress.

Basic Fire Facts

Size: 83,508 acres
Start date and time: August 24, 2000, 2:30 p.m.
Date and time contained: September 8, 2000, 6:00 p.m.
Date and time controlled: September 25, 2000, 6:00 p.m.
Suppression costs to date: $8,200,000
Cause: Arson. A suspect is in custody.
Location: Southwest Black Hills, South Dakota -- between Newcastle, Wyoming, and Custer, South Dakota. Parts of Townships 1, 2, 3, and 4 South, Ranges 1, 2, and 3 East, Black Hills Meridian. Includes landmarks such as Jewel Cave National Monument, Hell Canyon, Tepee Canyon, Antelope Ridge, Gillette Canyon, Signal Hill, and Dumbuk Ridge. Did not reach Bear Mountain, Boles Canyon, Lightning Creek, Ditch Creek Campground, or Moon Campground. See also maps.

Suppression Facts

Incident command teams:

Black Hills National Forest Type 3 overhead team, Joe Harbach, Incident Commander (August 24 - 27)
U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Type 1 overhead team, Bill Waterbury, Incident Commander (August 27 - September 5)
Interagency Type 3 overhead team, Incident Commanders: Robert Frye, September 5 - 9; Andy Hoder, September 9 - 15; Bill Bartlett, September 15 - present

Injuries: None
Most personnel committed at any one time: 1,160 personnel on August 31
Miles of dozer line constructed: Approximately 120

Losses

Structures lost: One summer cabin, three outbuildings
Structures threatened: More than 100
Livestock lost: One cow that had to be destroyed as a result of the fire
Timber lost: Preliminary estimates indicate that the fire killed trees containing a total of approximatly 224 million board feet of timber. One board foot equals a piece of wood 12 inches square by 1 inch thick. Four active timber sales were affected by the fire.
Wildlife lost: Most of the area's wildlife escaped the fire physically unharmed. Fire crews saw large mammals such as deer and elk moving out of the fire area. Some animals were killed by the fire, while others have been seen that seem to show evidence of physical stress from the heat and smoke. Small non-burrowing mammals such as skunks, rabbits, and porcupines probably suffered the greatest losses. Animals known to have perished include:

Several deer, including one with a radio collar
One radio-collared fawn
One radio-collared mountain lion
One elk

Other losses:

150 miles of range fence
65 livestock water tanks
20 miles of range water pipeline
17 wildlife water developments
59 wooden powerline structures
2,738 feet of above-ground telephone line
Parts of several archeological sites

Community

Fire's closest approach to nearby towns:

Newcastle, Wyoming: 9.5 miles
Custer, South Dakota: 8.75 miles
Hill City, South Dakota: 11 miles

Area burned at Jewel Cave National Monument: 1279 acres
Structures lost at Jewel Cave National Monument: None
Percent of area within fire boundary privately held: 3.4%
Private property losses: To be determined
Percent of area within fire boundary held in all non-Forest Service ownerships: 4.9%
Percent of area within Black Hills National Forest boundary held in all non-Forest Service ownerships: 26%

The above ownership statistics show that much greater private property losses would have been likely if a fire of this size had occurred almost anywhere else in the Black Hills.

Fire intensity

Burn intensity by percent of fire area

High: 39%
Moderate: 32%
Low: 24%
Unknown: 5%

US Forest Service, Black Hills National Forest
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Last modified October 14, 2003