Wildfire in South Dakota, December 22, 2020

Name: Wildfire in South Dakota, December 22, 2020
Start: 2020-12-22T09:30
End: 2020-12-22T14:30
Location: South Dakota

December 22, 2020 · NWS ABR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Strong south winds, above normal temperatures, along with low relative humidity contributed to a wildfire 4 miles northwest of Altamont. S Highway 212 and 475th avenue in northern Deuel county in the mid morning hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ABR wrote it up.

Strong south winds, above normal temperatures, along with low relative humidity contributed to a wildfire 4 miles northwest of Altamont. A trailer house being pulled had rolled into the north ditch near the intersection of U.S Highway 212 and 475th avenue in northern Deuel county in the mid morning hours. While crews were recovering the trailer house from the ditch, the trailer house caught fire. The fire then spread to the grass in the ditch and continued to spread because of the strong winds and dead grass. The fire covered an area from U.S. Highway 212 to 168th street between 475th and 474th avenue or approximately 1000 acres.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Aberdeen, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 22, 5:32 AM CST, 3 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 22, 5:32 AM CST, 3 hours 58 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 22, 4:11 AM CST, 5 hours 19 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Aberdeen SD
411 AM CST Tue Dec 22 2020

MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-231015-
Traverse-Big Stone-Corson-Campbell-McPherson-Brown-Marshall-Roberts-
Walworth-Edmunds-Day-Dewey-Potter-Faulk-Spink-Clark-Codington-Grant-
Hamlin-Deuel-Stanley-Sully-Hughes-Hyde-Hand-Jones-Lyman-Buffalo-
411 AM CST Tue Dec 22 2020 /311 AM MST Tue Dec 22 2020/

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for west central Minnesota,
central South Dakota, north central South Dakota and northeast
South Dakota.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

Very strong northwest winds will develop tonight after midnight.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday.

For Wednesday, very strong northwest winds are expected along with
light snow, falling temperatures and wind chills. 2 inches or less of
snow is expected with highest amounts east of the James Valley. The
strong winds combined with the falling snow may cause periods of
blowing snow and reduced visibilities especially along the I-29
corridor.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Deuel

When: December 22, 9:30 AM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Deuel forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 44.760, -96.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Dakota in 2020 Every state in 2020 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, December 2020

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 935098.