An unusually dry year led to wildfire scares and the institution of several months-long burn bans across southwest North Dakota.
The U.S. Forest Service battled a nearly 50-acre fire in the Badlands in July that burned into heavy juniper at the bottom of ravines, which closed about eight miles of the Maah Daah Hey trail.
Bowman County assistant director of Emergency Management Karla Germann said Bowman County followed the fire index up until the end of September.
"Then, we just put a straight burn ban in place for the county at that time, which meant that there could be no burning at all," she said.
She said the cooler temperatures in the winter may keep fires from burning as rapidly as they would when the weather is warmer, but a grassfire in Bucyrus in October that, aided by 60 mph winds, burned nearly 6,000 acres and four occupied homes.
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But even with winter settling in and the mercury not rising quite as high, she said the fire danger posed by the dry conditions continues to be a concern for local officials.
"It is the fire chief's call on how much precipitation will be needed in order to lift the burn ban, and the chief's said it won't happen until there is a significant snowfall," she said. "Between the fire chief and the county commission, they would be the ones to determine when the ban can be lifted."
Officials in Billings, Stark, Slope, Hettinger, Bowman and Adams counties decided in December to continue to operate their burn bans that have been in place since earlier this year, even though North Dakota's fire season typically only runs from April through October.
Billings County was placed under a burn ban in September.
Pat Rummel, Billings County emergency manager said it was hard to say when Billings County's burn ban would be lifted because depended on when the county received a significant amount of precipitation that would lessen the chances of fires burning out of control.
Editor's Note: This story is the third in a series of The Dickinson Press' top 10 stories of the year. Previously on the list was:
9: Property tax bill shot down, Heitkamp beats Berg in election
10: Controversy with Stark Co. Sheriff Clarence Tuhy
