Road work begins on Highways 40, 36 near Custer rapidcityjournal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rapidcityjournal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
1:23
Hundreds of acres in the Black Hills National Forest will soon get new seedlings. The goal is to erase some of the scars from a wildfire two decades ago.
The Forest Service plans to plant more than 153,000 ponderosa pine seedlings in a large tract of Jewel Cave National Park. The Jasper fire burned about 83,500 acres 20 years ago.
Crews plan to plant at least 10,000 seedlings each day. They will also spread grass seed across the area by helicopter.
Hot dry conditions and plenty of fuel on the forest floor helped the Jasper fire burn hot and spread rapidly.
Jason Virtue is the fire staff officer for the Black Hills National Forest. He says the intensity of the fire makes re-seeding the area extremely difficult.