Hay! Lookout Mountain Catches Fire; Pine Ridge Also Aflame

Smokey Bear says Drown, Stir, Drown, and Feel your campfire before you hike out. You should do the same thing putting out your hay-truck fire; otherwise you’ll end up setting Lookout Mountain on fire:

On Sunday, shortly before 7 p.m., according to the South Dakota Highway Patrol, a 2005 freightliner semi-truck was hauling hay in the westbound lanes on Interstate 90, near mile marker 11, when smoke was observed coming from the hay. After the truck was pulled over by the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, the hay became fully engulfed in flames. The driver safely exited the vehicle. No one was injured.

The westbound driving lanes were closed for approximately 2 and a half hours while the Spearfish Fire Department put out the fire.

Fire crews returned to the fire Monday morning after the hay ignited again.

It was not immediately known what time that was.

“The investigation and reporting on timing of events will come from fire officials when they can focus on releasing accurate information but as for now the main focus is control of hot spots and preventing any further spreading of the fire and damaged area. The mild wind conditions from Monday evening into the morning hours Tuesday have helped keep the fire in check,” [Spearfish Mayor John] Senden said.

Around 2:45 p.m., the fire spread from the hay pile and traveled north over the edge of Lookout Mountain toward Kerwin Lane [staff, “Lookout Fire Mapped at 443 Acres,” Black Hills Pioneer, 2026.09.08].

Watch Duty shows the fire zone east of I-90 mile markers 10 and 11, extending more than a mile north to south, but not reaching the peak of the mountain.

Meanwhile, the Needles-Event Fire has burned over 6,000 acres on the Pine Ridge Reservation north of Porcupine and just east of Evergreen. Local fire and rescue officials say the fire isn’t threatening any homes and probably was started by lightning.

The Needles-Event Fire is big enough to make the National Interagency Fire Center list of big wildfires. As of yesterday, 53,665 large wildfires have burned 8,397,760 acres in the United States this year. Both figures are the highest Jan 1–Sep 8 fire figures in the last ten years.

Truck fires and lightning happen, but increasing heat and drought allow mishaps and storms to light more and more intense fires. Nature is talking…

Yet American leaders are dangerously quiet about climate change. Some, of course, are actively antagonistic. But even those who may, on paper, support action hesitate to address the problem directly. An analysis of press releases issued by members of the House and Senate shows that mentions of climate change have plummeted since 2025, a large-scale “climate hushing” driven by a spreading perception that climate change is a losing issue with the American public.

…Americans want to hear more from their own leaders. In fact, 65% agreed with the simple, emphatic statement: “If public officials won’t acknowledge climate change is happening, they’re putting lives and livelihoods at risk.” Some leaders worry that talking about climate change in the midst of an extreme weather emergency is “politicizing a tragedy”, but when we proposed that theory to Americans, two in three did not agree. Far more agreed with the statement, “We can’t truly prepare for extreme weather if we aren’t willing to talk about ​climate change.”

…Nature is talking. Politicians are not. What we need isn’t a massive shying away from the issue, but leaders ready to talk about the consequences we’re all feeling, with plans to start fixing them [John Marshall, “After a Summer of Wildfires and Record Heat, Americans Are Talking About Climate Change. Why Aren’t Our Leaders?” Reuters, 2026.09.08].

Only you can prevent the whole damn planet from catching fire. Ask your elected officials and the challengers next to them on the ballot what they are planning to do to protect Spearfish, Pine Ridge, and the rest of the world from wildfires and the climate change that’s driving them.