The July 3 fireworks display planned at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial would be “ill advised” because of the abnormally dry conditions and risk of summer wildfires, a fire expert said.
The event could attract as many as 75,000 people, and President Donald Trump said he plans to attend.
Bill Gabbert, the former fire management officer for Mount Rushmore and six other national parks in the region, said shooting fireworks over the extremely flammable ponderosa pine forest should not be done.
“Burning debris, the burning embers and unexploded shells fall into a ponderosa pine forest and ponderosa pine is extremely flammable,” said Gabbert.
The Black Hills fell 30% to 50% short of moisture compared to the long-term precipitation average for the region in April and May, the Rapid City Journal reported. Long-range forecasts for June indicate that hotter and drier-than-average conditions will continue until July.
The U.S. Drought Monitor recently labeled nearly all of southwestern South Dakota, including most of the Black Hills, as “abnormally dry.”
The fireworks display at Mount Rushmore to celebrate Independence Day has not happened since 2009, when it was ended because of fire danger after a pine beetle infestation.
The National Park Service, which manages the memorial, has determined that launching fireworks at Mount Rushmore would pose only a slight fire risk.
Republican Gov. Kristi Noem’s communications director, Ian Fury, said the park service has taken several precautions, including performing an environmental assessment and conducting a large controlled burn within the memorial’s borders in April.
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