Current:Home > Invest‘Burn, beetle, burn': Hundreds of people torch an effigy of destructive bug in South Dakota town-LoTradeCoin
‘Burn, beetle, burn': Hundreds of people torch an effigy of destructive bug in South Dakota town
View Date:2024-12-24 00:02:33
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — In what’s become an annual winter tradition, hundreds of people carrying torches set fire to a giant wooden beetle effigy in Custer, South Dakota, to raise awareness of the destructive impact of the mountain pine beetle on forest land in the Black Hills.
Custer firefighters prepared and lighted the torches for residents to carry in a march to the pyre Saturday night in the 11th Burning Beetle fest, the Rapid City Journal reported.
People set the tall beetle effigy on fire amid drum beats and chants of “Burn, beetle, burn.” Firefighters kept watch, warning participants not to throw the torches, even as some people launched the burning sticks into pine trees piled at the base of the beetle. Fireworks dazzled overhead.
The event, which includes a talent show and “bug crawl,” supports the local arts.
The U.S. Forest Service calls the mountain pine beetle “the most aggressive, persistent, and destructive bark beetle in the western United States and Canada.” The Black Hills have experienced several outbreaks of the beetle since the 1890s, the most recent being from 1996-2016, affecting 703 square miles (1820 square kilometers), according to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
veryGood! (43)
Related
- Prominent conservative lawyer Ted Olson, who argued Bush recount and same-sex marriage cases, dies
- Maine power outage map: Spring snowstorm leaves over 200,000 homes, businesses without power
- Awe and dread: How religions have responded to total solar eclipses over the centuries
- Customer points gun on Burger King employee after getting a discounted breakfast, police say
- 'I was in total shock': Woman wins $1 million after forgetting lotto ticket in her purse
- Biden touts inhaler price drops with Bernie Sanders: Finally, finally we beat big Pharma
- Mother of Justin Combs shares footage of raid at Diddy's home, denounces militarized force
- One school district stopped suspending kids for minor misbehavior. Here’s what happened
- Judith Jamison, a dancer both eloquent and elegant, led Ailey troupe to success over two decades
- Woman convicted 22 years after husband's remains found near Michigan blueberry field: Like a made-for-TV movie
Ranking
- Tony Todd, star of 'Candyman,' 'Final Destination,' dies at 69
- Chiefs' Rashee Rice apologizes for role in hit-and-run, takes 'full responsibility'
- Elizabeth Hurley Addresses Rumor She Took Prince Harry's Virginity
- Caitlin Clark, Iowa return to Final Four. Have the Hawkeyes won the national championship?
- Climate Advocacy Groups Say They’re Ready for Trump 2.0
- LSU star Angel Reese uses Vogue photoshoot to declare for WNBA draft: I like to do everything big
- Border Patrol must care for migrant children who wait in camps for processing, a judge says
- How Americans in the solar eclipse's path of totality plan to celebrate the celestial event on April 8, 2024
Recommendation
-
Stop What You're Doing—Moo Deng Just Dropped Her First Single
-
Bills to trade star WR Stefon Diggs to Texans in seismic offseason shakeup
-
'Gilmore Girls' alum Matt Czuchry addresses Logan criticism, defends Rory's love interests
-
Michigan prosecutors seek 10 to 15 years in prison for James and Jennifer Crumbley
-
Black, red or dead: How Omaha became a hub for black squirrel scholarship
-
Warren Sapp's pay at Colorado revealed as graduate assistant football coach
-
Bronny James' future at Southern Cal uncertain after departure of head coach Andy Enfield
-
US applications for jobless benefits rise to highest level in two months, but layoffs remain low