(The following story by Kevin Woster appeared on the Rapid City Journal website on August 1.)
WALL, SD. — Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad officials are trying to determine the cause of a fire that damaged a train and burned nearby stacks of railroad ties and pasture ground Wednesday near the Cheyenne River.
Initial reports from firefighters on the scene indicated that the fire started in a rail car loaded with coal and might have involved a lightning strike.
Incident commander John Hess of the Wall Volunteer Fire Department said later Wednesday, however, that it appeared that the coal in the rail car somehow ignited on its own.
“They were hauling coal, and that coal must have combusted, and there was holes in the car, and it was kind of dripping out of it,” Hess said of the fire. “The car was real hot. It was smoldering.”
Hess estimated the burned area at 10 to 20 acres.
DM&E president Kevin Schieffer of Sioux Falls said Wednesday afternoon that the company was still investigating the fire but hadn’t determined a cause. He said it would be premature to label it self-combustion, something he said has never been a problem for DM&E coal cars.
“I don’t think it would be fair to suggest that it was self-igniting,” Schieffer said.
Hess said crews began responding to the fire about 11:30 a.m., and found a string of cars, including the one believed to have started the fire, sitting on the track not far from Interstate 90. The blaze burned along the railroad track, through a pasture and into piles of railroad ties nearby.
Fire crews called in single-engine air tankers operated by the state to make fire-retardant drops to help contain the fire and protect nearby buildings of what is called the old Schell Ranch.
Firefighters continued to watch the stacks of smoldering ties throughout the afternoon.
Schieffer said there were a number of possible causes for the fire.
“I’ve heard lightning strike. I’ve heard theories. That’s all something that’s going to be investigated,” Schieffer said.
A spark from a train also was a possibility, Schieffer said. The hilly terrain and dry conditions make the stretch of track near the Cheyenne River between Wall and Wasta prone to fires, he said.
“That’s a particularly difficult spot on our railroad,” he said. “When the conditions are really dry, like they are now, it’s just a tough spot.”
Schieffer said the fire caused some damage to DM&E property but not enough to affect rail shipments. Schieffer said he couldn’t confirm for certain whether the train involved was hauling coal or a fuel product derived from processed coal.
The company does haul both, he said.
Without second-guessing what firefighters at the scene surmised about the fire beginning in a coal car, Schieffer said the company was likely to have an initial report of its own investigation by sometime next week. There were still many unanswered questions on Wednesday, he said.
“We still don’t know if it was established whether the fire spread to the car or whether the fire spread from the car,” Schieffer said. “There needs to be an investigation.”
No one was injured in the blaze. And Schieffer praised the quick response of fire crews.
“My hat’s off to the great work the fire departments did out there,” he said. “They really did a super job.”
State and U.S. Forest Service firefighters joined crews from Wall, Wasta and Quinn at the scene. And a state-coordinated strike team also sent trucks from other towns, some from eastern South Dakota. Some of those units are stationed in the Black Hills as a precaution because of ongoing fire problems and increased activity from the upcoming Sturgis motorcycle rally.