People across KOTA Territory are on edge.
With wildfires sparking up around the area, local
businesses are forced to plan for the worse.
The hot and dry weather across is a dangerous
combination, one that results in high fire dangers.
And with it being the height of the tourism season in the Black Hills, local businesses are thinking ahead.
"With the fires in the area we're pretty concerned
about our area here," said Ryan Flick, Director of the Palmer Gulch Resort and the Hill City / Mt Rushmore KOA.
"This time of year we can have anywhere from 17–25
hundred people staying here on any given night. It's a major concern being 4
times the size of hill city and getting everybody off here," said Flick.
That fear isn't just for the campground, it's also for the
more than 90 horses and riders that could be out on the trails if a fire
suddenly takes off.
But Jim Husted, who owns the resort's stables, has a plan.
"All our guides have radios so if a fire does spring up
we can contact them and get them out of the field as quickly as possible," said Husted.
And if the roads are packed with campers, Husted will
have to resort to other methods to get the horses out.
"We can't trailer them out so we got to cut the fences,
go down the valley north out of Palmer Gulch," explained Husted
The resort has been planning evacuations at the start of the
pine beetle infestation.
Flick says with current dry conditions, those 5 years of
planning are paying off.
"As long as everything goes to plan working with the Sheriff's Department and everybody else with us involved we hope to get everybody
out of here within 1 to 2 hrs," said Flick.
"we do have a plan, we hope we never have to utilize it
but we do have a plan," said Husted.
Directors at the resort say even though rain makes for
undesirable camping, it provides much needed moisture.
But, businesses at Palmer Gulch, as well as the resort
itself, have noticed higher revenue numbers this year, compared to last, even with the hot dry weather.
