People emerge from fire with stories (Black Hills SD)

DEADWOOD - Trapper and Cookie Lance moved to the Black Hills for its natural beauty. If their home is still there, smoking black sticks surround it.

The Lances evacuated their Two-Bit Gulch home Saturday evening as fire burned over the ridge above them. Two-Bit Gulch is at the northeast edge of Deadwood near the entrance to Boulder Canyon.

A neighbor had said a few days before the fire that people in that area should get all their valuables in one place. "I told him to pray it doesn't happen," Cookie Lance said. "But it happened. We're too old to start over."

The Lances gathered three dogs, three cats, two vehicles and other items on Saturday evening and headed for Spearfish. They registered at the Red Cross Shelter in the Donald E. Young Center and spent the night in the Spearfish VFW parking lot. The Lances tried unsuccessfully to gather up three other cats and left them behind in the fire.

"Right now, I am confused," Trapper Lance said. "There are so many conflicting stories out there about what house burned and what house did not."

Mike Besso, a news reporter for the Lawrence County Centennial in Deadwood, was among the evacuees. He spent the night on a cot in the Young Center fieldhouse and was confident his home was saved. Besso was a second-grader in 1959 when Deadwood was evacuated because of a similar fire. "I remember getting out of school," Besso said.

Besso said this year's evacuation involved heavy and slow-moving traffic in Deadwood. Besso found shelter for his pets at the Spearfish Humane Society and was more concerned about their welfare. "They were very upset because they were in a hot car," Besso said. "They are more calm now."

Bruce Brown of the American Red Cross said his agency registered 306 people at the Young Center emergency shelter. More people came in to the shelter Sunday morning when they learned they probably wouldn't be able to go home for at least another day.

Those at the shelter had immediate concerns and long-term questions. "Right now, the biggest issue on people's minds is ‘We want to go home,'" Brown said. "First, we provide shelter and medical needs, and then clothing. A basic change of clothes is going to be very important for most of these families."

Later, the families will need assistance in cleaning up around their fire-affected homes, Brown said.

Brown said local Red Cross volunteers have prepared for this type of disaster, especially this year. Right now, the biggest need is money. The Red Cross will give assistance to anyone displaced by the fire and help those people clean up their homes if the fire damaged them.

Some stayed. Whistler Gulch Campground owner Tom Blair stood in his camp with a fire hose, hoping to save it. "It's my life," Blair said. "I've fought some wildland fires, I never seen it roar like that. You can't describe how she was coming down that hill." Blair was able to evacuate all but four of the 50 campsites in the campground. Fire blew over the top of two motor homes and missed a tent by inches. Neither was damaged, he said.

Blair said the work of firefighters and slurry bombers was the key to saving most of Deadwood. "Those fire department people and those pilots ... they don't pay those pilots enough. I have a red house and it used to be gray. It's the nicest color in the world."

Blair later helped fill brush rigs from a hydrant at his campground. He had just returned to his home at noon Sunday and said the forest around Deadwood was still crackling with fire.

Blair said he was aware that a catastrophic fire was almost inevitable. "I think everybody was waiting for the shoe to drop. This is the place that somebody chose," Blair said. "We're nowhere near out of the woods. Shoe No. 2 could drop really quick."

Seven Down Arena near Spearfish became an impromptu drop-off point for horse owners from about 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. Sean Seamands, hired man at Seven Down, said local ranchers and residents who were evacuated from the Deadwood area brought 15 to 20 horses to the stables. "People just started coming in with their horses," Seamands said. "I started making room in case there were more."

Two displaced campers from the ‘76 Campground in Deadwood also spent the night at the arena, Seamands said.

Lawrence County Sheriff's Office Investigator Paul Hanson said officers were patrolling evacuated areas Sunday afternoon and notified residents in other areas that they should prepare to leave if the wind changed.

Hanson said some felt the lack of smoke meant the lack of threat. "One structure caught fire in Deadwood this afternoon," Hanson said. "They could go up anytime."

Hanson estimated that several thousand people were evacuated from Boulder Canyon, Nemo, Highway 385, Deadwood and area tourist parks Saturday night. Others stayed behind. "We tried to explain the situation, but we can't forcibly move them," Hanson said. "We obtain information from them and their next of kin (if they refuse to leave.) Most people get their pets and valuable belongings and thank us for the information. Most have been very cooperative."

Most primary and secondary roads around Lead and Deadwood are blocked, but Hanson said limited manpower couldn't cover all areas. Some homeowners and curiosity-seekers slip through and park along fire routes. "There are some people driving around that shouldn't be. They impede any progress when they block these areas," Hanson said. "I'm surprised a lot of people put material possessions ahead of valuing life."

Deadwood Mayor Francis Toscana said he was very concerned Saturday when it appeared that the flames would overrun the city.

"I had great concern for the people first and buildings second," Toscana said. "The fire has not been overly devastating to buildings, but some residences have been burned."

Despite the shutdown of the bustling tourist city, Toscana said things would eventually get back to normal. "Deadwood's very resilient," Toscana said. "We've been through many fires and floods before. I think, in short order, Deadwood will be up and running again."

Contestants in the first-ever All-American Sweetheart Pageant in Deadwood were filled with jitters and nervousness Saturday at Deadwood Gulch Resort — not because of the pageant, but because they had to flee for their lives in the midst of a wildfire. Twenty-three contestants ranging in age from infants to 18 and their families from the region attended the event.

Pageant Director Esther Buck of Scottsbluff, Neb., said Sunday the competition had just ended when authorities entered and told the pageant crowd that a wildfire threatened the resort and convention center. The contestants were preparing for the closing ceremonies and announcement of winners, while adults considered the possibility of evacuation.

"As we were deciding this, one of the ridges exploded, and the fire was traveling down into the canyon, right toward us," Buck said.

Buck said families scrambled to leave the resort when the electricity went out, trapping a 9-year-old contestant in the motel elevator.

Hotel staff quickly opened the elevator and freed the girl, who was screaming because she was trapped in a pitch-dark elevator. Hotel staff also helped evacuate their guests and belongings. "I have never seen a hotel empty so fast," Buck said. "People were just grabbing things and throwing them."

One 15-year-old contestant was unaccounted for during the evacuation. Buck said Sunday she did not yet know if the girl had been located.

Buck was able to gather up the crowns and sashes from the convention center but couldn't go back for about 40 trophies up to 5 feet tall. It took about an hour for Buck to leave Deadwood. "The last thing I saw as we were pulling out was the fire cresting the hill behind the Comfort Inn and exploding the trees," Buck said.

Buck plans to have an official crowning sometime later in Scottsbluff. "It's going to be near water," Buck said.

KDDX-KZZI FM radio stations in Spearfish spent much of Saturday evening and Sunday taking live phone calls from people who were evacuated or watching the fire. The callers provided eyewitness fire information for listeners or asked for information about missing friends or relatives.

Morning radio show hosts Jack Daniels and Tom Collins worked Saturday night and Sunday morning. Daniels spent much of Saturday night not knowing whether his own home in Selway Estates east of Deadwood had survived the blaze. Callers provided conflicting information.

"After a while, I became numb to the whole thing," Daniels said. "There was so much else going on."

Brad Hemmah of First Gold Hotel said the state Gaming Commission and Deadwood Police are handling casino security issues while the town is locked down. Hemmah also said people who have possessions left in hotel rooms could have them returned as soon as the hotel reopens. Hemmah also said the slot machines have backup systems that record credit amounts of the players at the time the power went out.

Again, good job...

have a good night! and let's pray for cooler, wet weather.

Morning radio show hosts Jack Daniels and Tom Collins

Yeah, and I suppose Johnnie Walker does the afternoon drive-time.</sarcasm>

Yeah! ;-D

"Watch out, folks, it's rush hour! Be careful - sometimes there's cars coming BOTH ways!"

This is the 11th aniversary of my family's USA road tour. And these are the specific days we spent in the Black Hills region. Tomorrow, 11 years ago, we had lunch in Deadwood. What a neat place!

I followed your link looking for pictures, and I didn't see any. I thought about complaining to the Rapid City Journal, but while looking for a link to complain, I found this link to photos. Others who are interested might also have a look.

ML/NJ

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