Black Hills camping strong despite fire ban - KOTA Territory News
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City leaders lifted the ban on open fires in Rapid City limits yesterday, but the rest of the Black Hills are still under restrictions.
And even though sitting around an open fire is a favorite camping past-time for a lot of travelers, campgrounds aren't really experiencing a drop in business.
"We don't need no campfires," said Allen Buller of Sioux Falls. "We can do without them."
Allen and his wife, Mary, drove in from eastern South Dakota on Saturday to start a week-long vacation in the Hills at the Rushmore Shadows Resort.
He said they knew about the fire ban before hitting the road.
"That's, I guess, not part of our agenda," he said. "We just come out and sightseeing, you know, see the heads and stuff and Crazy Horse."
Rushmore Shadows marketing director Pam Nelson said that's actually a pretty common response.
"I think they're disappointed, you know," she said, "that they can't have a campfire because they can't have their s'mores, things like that, but there's so much to do in the Black Hills."
So it's not really affecting business -- or their bottom line.
Where they are losing money is in a storage shed not far from the office.
People aren't allowed to bring firewood from out of state, so in normal summers, they sell around 50 bundles a night at $5 apiece. But for the last two weeks, the stacks of bundles haven't moved.
A bigger challenge, Nelson said, is the ban includes charcoal grills because of the sparks.
"People didn't bring their propane grills with them," she said, "so they don't really have a way to cook other than in their unit," or with an electric skillet, like Buller.
"That's why I said we got to have electricity," Buller said with a laugh.
"All in all, people are pretty understanding," Nelson added.
And if her predictions are true, they'll have to be understanding for the rest of the season. She thinks it's unlikely the area will get enough moisture to eliminate the need for a fire ban.
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518 St. Joseph St.
Telephone: 605.342.2000 
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