Wildfire and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, September 17 to 19, 2000

Dry lightning and strong downburst winds hit portions of southwestern South Dakota. Two trailer homes were flipped over and destroyed near Rosebud. No one was home at the time. Several homes in Mission, where a sensor recorded a 68 mph gust, had roof damage, and a minister had a shed roof smash into his van. The local electric cooperative reported four power poles broken, as well as problems with other electric equipment caused by the power lines touching each other. The worst damage was to a business seven miles east of Mission. The roof was torn off the building, and a utility pole and radio tower were toppled. Two home weather stations, located two miles east of Okreek, reported peak winds of 89 and 93 mph. The dry lightning also caused more than 30 fires throughout the region. The largest was estimated at 15,000 acres just south of Kyle. On the Rosebud Reservation, four fires blazed, with one fire reaching 1,100 acres. One home was destroyed in the fire, and another had damage on one side. Southwestern Jackson County had a 2,500 acre fire, and Tripp County had two fires just south of Winner, each around 1,000 acres. Ranchers reported at least 1,500 round bales of hay destroyed. Also, seven cattle were killed and another 20 cattle were badly burned. In Bennett County, a large fire of several thousand acres occurred along Highway 18 northeast of Batesland.