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2025 County Report

Fires in Sanborn County, SD

In 2025, fire departments serving Sanborn County responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.

1,089 residents FIPS 46111 8 cities · 3 fire depts
Total incidents
18
116 across 5 years
Building fires
4
1 wildland
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Casualties
0 / 0
0 civ deaths · 0 civ inj · 0 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.

18
Total Incidents
Building fires 4 22.2%
Fire, other 3 16.7%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 3 16.7%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 2 11.1%
Outside rubbish fire, other 2 11.1%
All other categories 4 22.2%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Sanborn County?

Apr peaks. Jan dips.

Jan 0
Feb 3
Mar 2
Apr 4
May 3
Jun 0
Jul 2
Aug 1
Sep 1
Oct 1
Nov 0
Dec 1
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Sanborn County

116 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 28
2022 28
2023 23
2024 19
2025 18
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 4 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
75%
9
Cause undetermined
8%
1
Intentional / arson
8%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
9%
1
06 How Sanborn County compares

Sanborn County vs SD vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

16.53
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Sanborn County
16.53
SD avg
5.75
US avg
7.15
3.67
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Sanborn County
3.67
SD avg
0.72
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Sanborn County
0
SD avg
7.1
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Sanborn County

8 cities mapped to FIPS 46111.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Sanborn County

3 departments report from this county.

Woonsocket
Woonsocket
FDID 56001 12 incidents 24 vol
Letcher
Letcher
FDID 56003 8 incidents 15 vol
Artesian
Artesian
FDID 56002 0 incidents 48 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.