Wind Cave Refuge Camp: Day 1
WCRC – Day One: Where Do We Go?
It’s 1:15 PM on Friday, July 20th, 2012 and I have the late shift for the day. I’m prepared to come back from my weekend and give my campfire program later that evening at Elk Mountain Campground. I walk to work, cover the front desk and get ready to give my 2:20 Fairgrounds Tour. As usual I make my announcement, “Good afternoon and Welcome to Wind Cave National Park. If you are holding blue tickets for the 2:20 Fairgrounds tour, that tour will be gathering at this time. To begin this tour, please make your way down the central stairs in the visitor center, follow the red stripe at the bottom of the stairwell, and continue out the double doors near the restrooms down the sidewalk about 200 yards to the elevator building. Once again if you are holding blue tickets for the 2:20 Fairgrounds tour, that tour is gathering at this time.”
I check in with the ticket seller, continue down the stairs and go out to meet my tour at the elevator building. The next hour and a half seem to go by smoothly and it seems to be a tour just like any other. I had expected coming off of my tour, knowing it was busy, that I would have another tour scheduled for me. As I walked back to the Visitor Center a large plume of smoke billowed overhead. Visitors asked where the fire was coming from and the only one that I had known about in the recent days were up in Custer State Park, so that is what I told them.
When I reached the office I inquired the possibility of another tour and was informed that things had oddly slowed down so I would be free of a second tour. As a short time passed I was then told that there was a fire just right outside of the park and Highway 385 was closed. That was about all that was known at the time and they would fill us in as we received more information. Not even a half an hour went by before my supervisor came down telling us that we were going to start evacuating the park; the fire had jumped the highway and was getting closer to the park more than what was comfortable.
My boss sent myself and my coworker Lucas out to the north intersection of Hwy 385 and the road to the Visitor Center, there we were suppose to direct traffic the right way and tell them of the road closure ahead. It was an incredibly hot and dry day outside and we roasted our butts off as we stood out on the asphalt. A dozen or so more cars pulled up and we directed them where they needed to go and where they could not go. Over the radios you could hear that there was discussion to prepare employees to also evacuate. Slowly they let staff members begin to leave their duty stations and go pack their belongings.
I quickly realized how much ‘stuff’ I have. I had to think long and hard about what it was that I cherished the most. The first thing that came to my mind was anything sentimental to me; especially things that had been given to me by my great-grandfather. Thus my fly rod from him was the first thing to pack. From there my guitar, personal items, clothing, and not much more. As we were all packing our supervisor and administrative officer gathered us all and had us meet in the lower housing fire ring.
It’s 1:15 PM on Friday, July 20th, 2012 and I have the late shift for the day. I’m prepared to come back from my weekend and give my campfire program later that evening at Elk Mountain Campground. I walk to work, cover the front desk and get ready to give my 2:20 Fairgrounds Tour. As usual I make my announcement, “Good afternoon and Welcome to Wind Cave National Park. If you are holding blue tickets for the 2:20 Fairgrounds tour, that tour will be gathering at this time. To begin this tour, please make your way down the central stairs in the visitor center, follow the red stripe at the bottom of the stairwell, and continue out the double doors near the restrooms down the sidewalk about 200 yards to the elevator building. Once again if you are holding blue tickets for the 2:20 Fairgrounds tour, that tour is gathering at this time.”
I check in with the ticket seller, continue down the stairs and go out to meet my tour at the elevator building. The next hour and a half seem to go by smoothly and it seems to be a tour just like any other. I had expected coming off of my tour, knowing it was busy, that I would have another tour scheduled for me. As I walked back to the Visitor Center a large plume of smoke billowed overhead. Visitors asked where the fire was coming from and the only one that I had known about in the recent days were up in Custer State Park, so that is what I told them.
When I reached the office I inquired the possibility of another tour and was informed that things had oddly slowed down so I would be free of a second tour. As a short time passed I was then told that there was a fire just right outside of the park and Highway 385 was closed. That was about all that was known at the time and they would fill us in as we received more information. Not even a half an hour went by before my supervisor came down telling us that we were going to start evacuating the park; the fire had jumped the highway and was getting closer to the park more than what was comfortable.
My boss sent myself and my coworker Lucas out to the north intersection of Hwy 385 and the road to the Visitor Center, there we were suppose to direct traffic the right way and tell them of the road closure ahead. It was an incredibly hot and dry day outside and we roasted our butts off as we stood out on the asphalt. A dozen or so more cars pulled up and we directed them where they needed to go and where they could not go. Over the radios you could hear that there was discussion to prepare employees to also evacuate. Slowly they let staff members begin to leave their duty stations and go pack their belongings.
I quickly realized how much ‘stuff’ I have. I had to think long and hard about what it was that I cherished the most. The first thing that came to my mind was anything sentimental to me; especially things that had been given to me by my great-grandfather. Thus my fly rod from him was the first thing to pack. From there my guitar, personal items, clothing, and not much more. As we were all packing our supervisor and administrative officer gathered us all and had us meet in the lower housing fire ring.
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