re: #67 lawhawk

Say 25,000 turn out at Mt. Rushmore. Rapid City has 75,000 people and is the closest big town. 3 hospitals/surgical centers with total of 400 beds. There’s about 250 ICU beds statewide, though the state had tried to surge to 1300 and realistically thought they’d need 600. Rapid City has about 60 of those ICU-type beds.

Rural folks are going to be so screwed.

Fireworks also create a massive fire risk at Mount Rushmore. They’ve banned fireworks displays there for a decade. The few roads that lead to the memorial will be choked with parked cars if a large crowd shows up. This event could turn into an Irwin Allen movie.