400 Homes Evacuated, 1,900 Acres Burned in South Dakota Wildfires

A dark cloud hovers over a herd of bison at sunset in Wind Cave National Park, in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, in a file photo. David McNew/Getty Images

More than 400 South Dakota homes have been evacuated following three separate wildfires that erupted in the Black Hills region on Monday and have so far burned hundreds of acres and destroyed at least one home, authorities said.

The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said that an initial fire started near Schroeder Road in the Nemo area, about 15 miles northwest of Rapid City. The “still moving” fires have so far destroyed several outbuildings and at least one home, the sheriff’s office said, noting that residents evacuated from Westberry Trails and Schroeder Road have since been allowed to return home.