     Cleanup efforts are underway after a 3-alarm fire early Monday morning destroyed the Timberwest Manufacturing fence post and pole plant in Rapid City.
The initial call came in about 1:00 am and the fire was listed as contained about 9 hours later.
The plant was destroyed despite an inter-agency effort that saw 12 fire departments from 3 counties respond along with 8 other agencies including the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Red Cross.
One firefighter was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Rapid Valley Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Tim Kobes told reporters the first crews to arrive found a fully engaged fire, marked by heavy flames and smoke from a commercial structure.
Chief Kobes said the fire had already expanded to several nearby structures as well as plant infrastructure with several factors hampering firefighters including locked gates and a limited water supply that forced the extensive use of water tenders.
Kobes said the water pressure at the one nearby hydrant across the street from the Timberwest plant was so low that they eventually gave up on it and switched to another one 2-to-3 miles away.