The Eagle Eye Fire 14 miles northwest of Crawford in the Oglala National Grasslands is now 85% contained and still at 345 acres.
The Hudson Meng Education & Research Center is now open for normal weekend operations, but visitors are asked to be mindful of fire vehicles on the roads to avoid the fire area, as operations are ongoing.
Incident command released all aerial and local volunteer fire department resources yesterday with crews from a combination of state and federal agencies continuing to strengthen containment lines and mop-up in burned areas.
Lightning is blamed for the Eagle Eye Fire, which was reported about 5:00 Tuesday morning and is burning southwest of Hudson-Meng and north of Eagles Eye Rock, a popular climbing site in Sioux County.
It’s an area that also burned in the Douthit Fire in 2012, and Pine Ridge District Ranger Tim Buskirk says the Eagle Eye Fire has actually reduced the fire hazard for the future by clearing out much of the dead and downed timber left from the 2012 blaze.
Buskirk says it will also greatly improve the availability and quality of forage for livestock and wildlife in the area in the future.