Daugaard's lack of leadership leaves VFDs hurting for resources

After a century of fire suppression, a decades-long moratorium on prescribed burns, a lack of environmental litigators and GOP retrenchment the Black Hills National Forest and surrounding grasslands remain at risk to more blazes like the Legion Lake Fire.

Rural fire departments are seeking a few good volunteers. “Many of us are getting older and can’t bunker up,” said Fred Wells of the Nisland department. Bunker is a term for the heavy fireproof clothing required to fight any fire. “We can maybe drive a truck, but some are not in physical condition to do that.” Wells also said that many have experienced burn out when they have constantly been the ones responding to calls. Right now fire departments that potentially could, or would, respond to events are in need, both in personnel and equipment, as well as other financial support. Most of the chiefs and other firefighters really don’t talk much about their needs.

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Wildland fire expert Joe Lowe has called South Dakota's current GOP governor, Dennis Daugaard, incompetent and uninterested in governing. Lowe obviously believes that South Dakota's governor is not taking the ecological collapse taking place on the Black Hills seriously enough.

A trustworthy or competent US Representative would call out the failures of the Daugaard regime but making South Dakota a perpetual federal disaster area is the only way Republicans know how to pay the bills.

But look on the bright side, people: your lives could be much worse; you could be living in Aberdeen, South Dakota.