Weather permitting, the Pierre Volunteer Fire Department will conduct two prescribed burns today (March 19, 2024).
The department will burn a small area on the southeast section of Hillsview Golf Course.
Course Superintendent Jordan Steiner says the burn will remove cattails in the area and improve water drainage. He says it’s a designated wetland for managing storm water, so clearing out cattails and other debris will help with mosquito and critter control.
The prescribed burn at Hillsview is expected to start in the early afternoon and take approximately two hours.
After completing the burn at Hillsview and if weather allows, firefighters will burn an area of nuisance weeds on the Downs Marina Peninsula. That burn is also expected to take about two hours.
Pierre Fire Chief Ian Paul says smoke management is the primary concern for both burns. He says wind conditions will need to be out of the right direction to dissipate smoke away from any occupied structures, so if conditions aren’t right, they’ll postpone the burns.
Agencies assisting with the burns include the US Forest Service, Pierre Rural Fire Department and Hillsview Golf Course staff.
I hope there aren’t a bunch of nests, and babies in that wetland at the golf course? It is typically pretty full of deer, turkeys and pheasant.