Home› Counties› SD› Dewey County
2025 County Report

Fires in Dewey County, SD

In 2025, fire departments serving Dewey County responded to 5 fire and hazmat incidents. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.

3,146 residents FIPS 46041 20 cities · 4 fire depts
Total incidents
5
89 across 5 years
Building fires
0
0 wildland
Property loss
$2K
$0 structure · $2K contents
Casualties
0 / 0
0 civ deaths · 0 civ inj · 0 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Fire, other lead by count. Top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.

5
Total Incidents
Fire, other 2 40.0%
Passenger vehicle fire 1 20.0%
Outside storage fire 1 20.0%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 1 20.0%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Dewey County?

Mar peaks. Jan dips.

Jan 0
Feb 0
Mar 2
Apr 1
May 0
Jun 1
Jul 0
Aug 0
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 1
Dec 0
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Dewey County

89 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 38
2022 34
2023 10
2024 2
2025 5
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 0 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
50%
1
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
50%
1
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
06 How Dewey County compares

Dewey County vs SD vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

1.59
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Dewey County
1.59
SD avg
5.75
US avg
7.15
0
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Dewey County
0
SD avg
0.72
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Dewey County
0
SD avg
7.1
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Dewey County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 46041.

CityPopulation 
North Eagle Butte 1,666 View ›
Timber Lake 627 View ›
La Plant 300 View ›
Isabel 188 View ›
Swift Bird 179 View ›
Whitehorse 147 View ›
Lantry 39 View ›
Trail City 0 View ›
Promise 0 View ›
Parade 0 View ›
Ridgeview 0 View ›
Firesteel 0 View ›
08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Dewey County

4 departments report from this county.

Timber Lake
Timber Lake
FDID 24001 3 incidents 32 vol
Isabel
Isabel
FDID 24002 0 incidents 32 vol
Eagle Butte
Eagle Butte
FDID 24003 0 incidents 29 vol
Trail City
Trail City
FDID 24004 0 incidents 38 vol
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in SD

Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).

#NameYearAgencyAcres
1 Jasper 2000 NPS 82,295
2 Cottonwood CA 2016 USFS 41,370
3 Power Dam Road 2024 BIA 15,319
4 INDIAN CANYON 2016 USFS 14,297
5 Casino 2022 BIA 12,636
6 Myrtle 2012 NPS 9,944
7 Turkey Day 2022 BIA 5,945
8 Cold Brook WF 2015 NPS 5,444
9 SHIRTTAIL 1991 NPS 3,750
10 BENT RIM 2020 BIA 3,625

About this data

County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.