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West Okoboji, Iowa

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Lakeville Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51351. The Survey maps it on the Milford quadrangle. 308 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,417 feet above sea level.

West Okoboji within Dickinson County

Population over time

2 figures

West Okoboji grew from 289 to 308 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010289
2020308+19 (+7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 8 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

22 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 22 fires within 5 miles of West Okoboji between 2006 and 2017, burning about 295 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined18
Debris and open burning3
Misuse of fire by a minor1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
31 July 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
10 July 2012Debris and open burning8.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined60 acresIowa Department of Natural ResourcesA34, 2235 193RD AVE., OKOBOJI TWP, BY LITTLE SIOUX
9 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources25271 182ND ST., CENTER GROVE TWP, SPIRIT LAKE, IA
6 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resources2305 225TH ST., MILFORD TWP, MILFORD, IA, IA
3 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resources1971 170TH AVE, LAKEVILLE TWP, MILFORD, IA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Dickinson County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 23 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 23 workings within 5 miles of West Okoboji: 20 past producers, 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
BradburySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Dickinson County PitsSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Leith PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Milford PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Milford PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Milford PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rohlin PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Dickinson County

Storms near this place

20 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Okoboji in 20 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 8 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 flood, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2024FloodWest Okoboji$1,900,000Rainfall amounts across Dickinson County from June 20-22 ranged from 5 to 10 inches. Widespread overland flooding ensued with additional major to record flooding along the West Fork Little Sioux and Little Sioux Rivers. Lakeshore flooding was also observed across the Iowa Great Lakes. ||There were over 550 locations across the county where water crossed the road or there was severe gravel wash. Three bridges were also damaged and closed. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure to be 1.9 million dollars. ||County-wide, hundreds of homes reported flood damage with water or sewage in their basements. There were approximately 25 lakeshore homes with water onto the first floor, which required the temporary relocation of some residents. There were also flood damages to area businesses. Dozens of bank collapses were reported along East Okoboji, West Okoboji, Big Spirit, and Silver Lakes with nearly 3,000 ft of shoreline lost. West Okoboji Lake crested about six inches below the record set in 1993. ||The majority of overland flooding subsided by June 25, but river flooding continued through the end of the month. For additional information on river flooding, please see other flood entries for Dickinson County.
March 2019FloodWest Okoboji$190,000Water was over County Road A34 in multiple locations west of Milford, as well as over roads in other nearby areas. Other flooding resulted in damage to public infrastructure including county roads and culverts.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindWest Okoboji$75,000Thunderstorm winds damaged several boats and docks at Terrace Park Beach. The winds also blew down trees and power lines, resulting in power outages.
June 1994HailWest Okoboji$50,000no account filed
June 2016Tornado (EF0)West Okoboji$1,000A brief tornado damaged a small shed.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindWest Okoboji-Several tree limbs were broken by thunderstorm winds.
June 2019FloodWest Okoboji-During crop planting season, prolonged flooding led to the loss of or inability to plant crops across the area. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
June 2018Flash FloodWest Okoboji-Repeated bursts of heavy rain over a two hour period brought 4 to 6 inches of rainfall. Water inundated State Highway 86, resulting in several stalled vehicles.
June 2018Flash FloodWest Okoboji-An estimated 5 inches of rainfall resulted in water across the road 7 miles west of Milford.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindWest Okoboji-Strong winds uprooted a mature tree which blocked the road in front of Taco House Restaurant.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindWest Okoboji-Thunderstorm winds caused an unknown amount of tree damage.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindWest Okoboji-Thunderstorm winds caused damage to corn crops. The amount of crop damage was not known.
April 2022HailWest Okoboji-no account filed
June 2018HailWest Okoboji-no account filed
June 2018HailWest Okoboji-no account filed
June 2017HailWest Okoboji-no account filed
June 2016HailWest Okoboji-no account filed
August 2008HailWest Okoboji-no account filed
June 1998HailWest Okoboji-no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindWest Okoboji-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Dickinson County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Crescent Beach Resort1.0 miles8
Wahpeton1.0 miles8
Milford2.1 miles8
Okoboji2.4 miles8
Arnolds Park2.4 miles7
Crows Nest Resort2.5 miles7
Manhattan Beach Resort2.6 miles8
Old Town2.9 miles8

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on West OkobojiAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2233004The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 462892. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.