Wildfire in South Dakota

Events

84

Deaths

1

Injuries

2

Damage

$120,000

• Wildfire in South Dakota, March 6, 20001 death · 1 injured · $5,000 · 1 eventA controlled burn went out of control, exacerbated by the conditions and strong winds. The fire caused fatal burns to one firefighter and injured another. Damage was confined to grassland.
• Wildfire and Hail in South Dakota, July 14, 2000$275,000 · 1 in hail · 7 eventsLightning caused a wildfire that burned 1,136 acres of Wind Cave National Park.
• Wildfire and High Wind in South Dakota, April 23, 2022$79,000 · 63 kt wind · 23 eventsStrong low pressure developed across central South Dakota on Saturday, which moved slowly toward northern Minnesota by Sunday morning.
• Wildfire and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, September 17 to 19, 2000$135,000 · 83 kt wind · 8 eventsDry 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.
• Tornado and Wildfire in South Dakota, April 22 to 23, 2022$47,000 · 2.5 in hail · 25 eventsA cluster of thunderstorms developed across south-central South Dakota in the late afternoon and evening of April 22, 2022 and moved northward with an advancing surface warm front.
• Wildfire and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, September 5 to 6, 2000$115,000 · 63 kt wind · 3 eventsLightning caused seven fires in central Meade County. The largest fire was around 500 acres south of Hereford.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, March 9 to 10, 2025$65,000 · 3 eventsContinued mild and dry conditions in March would result in an expansion of drought and high fire danger conditions. Thankfully during this period of observed fires, winds remained relatively light aiding in containment.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, March 6, 2000$50,000 · 1 eventA grass fire of unknown origin was exacerbated by dry conditions and strong winds, and burned 1500 acres of grassland northwest and north of Brandon. Several homes were threatened by the fire but no homes were damaged, although farmland and some equipment burned.
• Wildfire and High Wind in South Dakota, March 12 to 13, 202670 kt wind · 27 eventsUnseasonably mild air moved into the region ahead of a strong low pressure system. These conditions, on top of a fairly dry February across western South Dakota allowed a fire to develop northeast of the community of Green Grass and spread rapidly southeast.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, October 4 to 7, 20111 injured · 2 eventsSeveral wildfires broke out in Gregory and Charles Mix Counties during the four day period. Warm and dry weather, strong winds, and dry vegetation due to extended dry weather preceding this time contributed to the fires starting and spreading.
• Wildfire and High Wind in South Dakota, February 18, 202259 kt wind · 9 eventsA clipper system generated high winds but brought little to no precipitation to the forecast area. Dry conditions and winds peaking at 68 mph in eastern Edmunds County with similarly high gusts across the James Valley resulted in blowing dust.
• Wildfire and Dust Storm in South Dakota, May 11 to 12, 202552 kt wind · 5 eventsStrong south winds, abnormally dry conditions and record temperatures over a 3 to 4 day period resulted in wildfires and blowing dust. On Saturday, May 10th, temperatures topped out in the mid and upper 80s with peak wind gusts between 30 and 40 mph.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, September 10 to 12, 20004 eventsLightning caused at least 23 fires across a four county region. The largest fire was two to three miles long and up to five miles wide along the Grand River in Perkins County. No structures were lost, although corrals and a few sheds were destroyed, as well as 70 tons of hay.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, August 20, 20003 eventsLightning caused four fires across Harding County. The largest was 500 acres along the South Grand River; the smallest around ten acres near Reva. No homes or structures were destroyed or damaged.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, September 17 to 18, 20002 eventsThunderstorms that moved through northwestern South Dakota caused several lightning fires. Twenty-one fires were reported in Harding County. The three largest fires burned a total of 17,000 acres, with another 1,000 acres burned by the smaller fires.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, August 24 to 30, 20002 eventsA forest fire started by arson became the largest fire in recorded history of the Black Hills as high winds pushed the fire northward from Custer County into Pennington County. By the time the fire was contained in early September, 83,500 acres had been burned.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, August 11 to 20, 20002 eventsA ten acre fire started by lightning threatened Spearfish Canyon. Nine other small fires, each less than two acres in size, were also ignited throughout Lawrence County, but were extinguished within 24-48 hours.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, October 26, 20242 eventsSouth winds of 35 to 40 mph and ambient dry conditions resulted in elevated fire danger throughout the day. A fire that developed on the Spink and Clark county line expanded to eventually encompass a little over 1000 acres or 1.66 square miles of pasture and cropland.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, March 20, 20252 eventsDeparting high pressure created a stiff south breeze, with mild temperatures and low humidity. Drought conditions continued well into the month, and the combination of hot dry weather and dry fuels resulted in fires across north central and northeast South Dakota.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, November 1 to 2, 19991 eventDue to the extremely dry and windy conditions, a large grassland fire began as a result of an electrical short from a waterwell on October 31st and continued into the afternoon of November 2nd.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, October 27, 19991 eventDue to the extremely dry and windy conditions, a large fire started on a farm northwest of Milbank. The smoldering from tree branches and leaves burned the previous day had caught the adjacent cornfield on fire. The fire then spread to a hayfield.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, October 31, 19991 eventDue to the extremely dry and windy conditions, a large grassland fire began as a result of an electrical short from a waterwell. Strong south winds caused the fire to rapidly spread north towards the community of Bullhead.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, October 31, 19991 eventDue to the extremely dry and windy conditions, a controlled burn of leaves at a rubble site just south of Groton got out of control as it jumped to the nearby grassland. With the winds strong from the south, the fire spread towards the city of Groton.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, February 19, 20001 eventDue to the extremely dry and windy conditions, a fire, believed to be started by a discarded cigarette, burned about 40 square miles of grassland between Kennebec and Lower Brule. The fire threatened a ranch but changed directions before anyone had to be evacuated.
• Wildfire in South Dakota, March 29, 20001 eventDue to the extremely dry conditions and increasing winds, a controlled burn on a field south of the Aberdeen Airport leaped out of bounds and spread within yards of residential property on south Melgaard Road. Twenty acres of land were burned.

Wildfire everywhereEvery kind of event in South Dakota

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.