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2025 County Report

Fires in Faulk County, SD

In 2025, fire departments serving Faulk County responded to 8 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $150K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.

1,122 residents FIPS 46049 17 cities · 5 fire depts
Total incidents
8
36 across 5 years
Building fires
0
1 wildland
Property loss
$217K
$214K structure · $3K 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.

8
Total Incidents
Fire, other 2 25.0%
Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire 2 25.0%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 2 25.0%
Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other 1 12.5%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 1 12.5%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Faulk County?

Oct peaks. Jan dips.

Jan 0
Feb 1
Mar 2
Apr 1
May 0
Jun 0
Jul 0
Aug 0
Sep 0
Oct 3
Nov 1
Dec 0
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Faulk County

36 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 7
2022 5
2023 3
2024 13
2025 8
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
71%
5
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
29%
2
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
05 The biggest fires

4 fires · $214K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Faulk County during 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $150,000 Chelsea Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire Significant
2 $60,000 Faulkton Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other Significant
3 $3,500 Seneca Fire, other Significant
4 $500 Faulkton Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire Significant
06 How Faulk County compares

Faulk County vs SD vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

7.13
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Faulk County
7.13
SD avg
5.75
US avg
7.15
0
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Faulk County
0
SD avg
0.72
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Faulk County
0
SD avg
7.1
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Faulk County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 46049.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Faulk County

5 departments report from this county.

Cresbard
Cresbard
FDID 28001 6 incidents 24 vol
Seneca
Seneca
FDID 28004 1 incidents 12 vol
Orient
Orient
FDID 28005 1 incidents 8 vol
Faulkton
Faulkton
FDID 28002 0 incidents 24 vol
Onaka
Onaka
FDID 28003 0 incidents 17 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.