By Bev Pechan
Everyone loved the mild winter. Spring came and went quickly and now it’s fire season. Thank goodness city fathers are taking a stronger look at Keystone’s precious water supply and how to conserve it. With the early heat and wind and dry conditions, we could be in for it this year.
Remembering the Battle Creek fire and others of 2002, the former almost took out all of Keystone that hot and dry August. Jumping four-lane Highway 16 at least twice, the flames raced toward Hermosa and back again, laughing at efforts to contain it before it destroyed 10 square miles of the Black Hills National Forest and licked its chops at the row of propane tanks in the trailer park across from the community center. Keystone wasn’t the only area under siege at the time. Smoke filled our nostrils nearly everywhere in the Hills that season.
But in Keystone, it was tough. There were tourists, the Sturgis rally windup, dry creeks and a limited water supply. Gov. Bill Janklow came to town and dispensed with the red tape slapped on by the Forest Service, ordering out the National Guard and allowing slurry planes to finally take off from the tarmac, even if they did have to cross a piece of federal property to reach the flames. It was eerie to see tankers from East River sitting in the city park across the street, hoping to provide enough water power if fire broke through the lines.
Meanwhile, tourists uptown on “the strip” wandered around with no clue of being anywhere close to an unchecked forest fire. Hills prevented sighting the plumes of smoke and lack of wind in their direction offered no warning. We are now supposed to have an outdoor siren to alert people in case of such an emergency, but the last I heard, it was not in working order. Hopefully, I’m wrong on this. I also hope I’m wrong in that Keystone currently has no emergency evacuation system in place. This is an easy place to get bottle-necked in heavy traffic and panicked tourists are not going to stop and ask directions, even if they could find someone there to give them. People don’t think for themselves anymore, they have programmed themselves to push the buttons on their smart phones and wait for an app to come up.
I really hope the business community can come up with some sort of mutual agreement that will help ensure the safety of their customers in the event of a disaster. I recall that during the Galena Fire of 1988 which threatened Keystone, that some motel owners were telling patrons there was no danger and that they did not have to leave —even though the town had been given immediate evacuation orders. It shouldn’t have to always be just about the money.
I believe too that Keystone must make its water quality and supply the absolute priority in the weeks and months to come and for once, to plan ahead instead of waiting until something happens and then reacting to it. So far, that hasn’t worked out too well.
Everyone loved the mild winter. Spring came and went quickly and now it’s fire season. Thank goodness city fathers are taking a stronger look at Keystone’s precious water supply and how to conserve it. With the early heat and wind and dry conditions, we could be in for it this year.
Remembering the Battle Creek fire and others of 2002, the former almost took out all of Keystone that hot and dry August. Jumping four-lane Highway 16 at least twice, the flames raced toward Hermosa and back again, laughing at efforts to contain it before it destroyed 10 square miles of the Black Hills National Forest and licked its chops at the row of propane tanks in the trailer park across from the community center. Keystone wasn’t the only area under siege at the time. Smoke filled our nostrils nearly everywhere in the Hills that season.
But in Keystone, it was tough. There were tourists, the Sturgis rally windup, dry creeks and a limited water supply. Gov. Bill Janklow came to town and dispensed with the red tape slapped on by the Forest Service, ordering out the National Guard and allowing slurry planes to finally take off from the tarmac, even if they did have to cross a piece of federal property to reach the flames. It was eerie to see tankers from East River sitting in the city park across the street, hoping to provide enough water power if fire broke through the lines.
Meanwhile, tourists uptown on “the strip” wandered around with no clue of being anywhere close to an unchecked forest fire. Hills prevented sighting the plumes of smoke and lack of wind in their direction offered no warning. We are now supposed to have an outdoor siren to alert people in case of such an emergency, but the last I heard, it was not in working order. Hopefully, I’m wrong on this. I also hope I’m wrong in that Keystone currently has no emergency evacuation system in place. This is an easy place to get bottle-necked in heavy traffic and panicked tourists are not going to stop and ask directions, even if they could find someone there to give them. People don’t think for themselves anymore, they have programmed themselves to push the buttons on their smart phones and wait for an app to come up.
I really hope the business community can come up with some sort of mutual agreement that will help ensure the safety of their customers in the event of a disaster. I recall that during the Galena Fire of 1988 which threatened Keystone, that some motel owners were telling patrons there was no danger and that they did not have to leave —even though the town had been given immediate evacuation orders. It shouldn’t have to always be just about the money.
I believe too that Keystone must make its water quality and supply the absolute priority in the weeks and months to come and for once, to plan ahead instead of waiting until something happens and then reacting to it. So far, that hasn’t worked out too well.