BlockBefore

Alsen, South Dakota

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1898 and the latest in 1986. It lies in ZIP code area 57004. The Survey maps it on the Alsen quadrangle.

Alsen within Union County

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 19 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

14 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Alsen between 1999 and 2020, burning about 72 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/undetermined9
Equipment and vehicle use3
Debris and open burning1
Recreation and ceremony1

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
6 April 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionGRASS FIRE
5 April 2000Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresAlcester Volunteer Fire DepartmentWEST INTERSTATE
4 April 2000Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresAlcester Volunteer Fire DepartmentBRULE
21 April 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionMM35
18 April 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionSLUTIER
5 March 2000Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlcester Volunteer Fire DepartmentSTAR SCHOOL
27 March 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionI-29
16 December 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression306

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Union County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Alsen: 1 producer. All of them 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
Seburn Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Union County

Storms near this place

25 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alsen in 25 storm reports between 2000 and 2025: 18 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 2 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
April 2011FloodAlsen$100,000Minor to moderate flooding of the Big Sioux River, as well as flooding of some lowlands in the county, continued through April, though flooding generally abated. Some farmland remained flooded, both near to and away from the Big Sioux River. The big Sioux River crested at about 3 feet above flood stage near Hawarden and Akron, iowa, on April 22nd. A few roads remained covered by water, and there was some road damage. High water and groundwater levels from record precipitation in the year 2010, a main reason the flooding onset was so fast in March, was also a main reason that the flooding subsided so slowly during April.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindAlsen$25,000Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree and power line damage, including trees up to 16 inches in diameter blown down.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindAlsen$2,000Thunderstorm winds snapped off a single power pole. Property damage costs are rough estimates.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Significant tree and powerline damage from an extended period of thunderstorm winds throughout Beresford. Several business signs were damaged.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAlsen-An extended period of damaging thunderstorm wind gusts was measured by a Road Weather Information System sensor south of Beresford. The first severe gusts were measured at 1954 CST with a peak of 75 mph at 2007 CST.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured by a Road Weather Information System sensor near Beresford.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured by a personal weather station.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindAlsen-A thunderstorm wind gust of 59 mph was measured by the South Dakota Road Weather Information System site near Beresford.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Thunderstorm wind gusts up to 65 mph were measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD508 3 miles south-southwest of Beresford.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Thunderstorm wind gusts as high as 80 mph were measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD508 3 miles south-southwest of Beresford.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindAlsen-A thunderstorm wind gust of 67 mph was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD508 3 miles south-southwest of Beresford. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
October 2022Thunderstorm WindAlsen-A thunderstorm wind gust of 66 mph was measured by South Dakota Road Weather Information System site SD508 3 miles south-southwest of Beresford.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Thunderstorm winds were measured by the South Dakota RWIS station 3 miles south southwest of Beresford.
September 2021Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Thunderstorm wind gusts measured by South Dakota RWIS site SD508 3 miles south southwest of Beresford.
August 2021HailAlsen-Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindAlsen-South Dakota RWIS station SD508 measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Large tree limb broken off and tossed on top of car.
March 2011FloodAlsen-Melting of a heavy winter snow cover caused moderate to major flooding of the Big Sioux River, as well as flooding of small streams and lakes in the county. Farmland was flooded, especially near the Big Sioux River, and other lowlands were flooded. The Big Sioux River crested at 8.3 feet above flood stage across from Hawarden, Iowa on March 26th. Several roads were closed by the flooding, and water was running over other roads, from flooded streams, creeks, and fields as well as from the Big Sioux River. The flooded roads included numerous rural roads. Some roads were heavily damaged, but the amount of damage could not be determined before repairs began. Some homes and businesses were also flooded. The flooding onset was rapid for a snow melt flood due to high water and groundwater levels from record precipitation in the year 2010.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Thunderstorm winds caused an unknown amount of tree damage.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several branches blown down.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindAlsen-Hail to one half inch, accompanied by strong winds, caused considerable crop damage. The amount of damage could not be determined, but it was suspected that a lot of corn would have to be replanted.
June 2017HailAlsen-no account filed
April 2010HailAlsen-no account filed
May 2008HailAlsen-no account filed
June 2008HailAlsen-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Union 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
Hill Side1.9 miles19
Emmet3.5 miles18
Nora5.4 miles18
Midway6.6 miles18
Spink8.1 miles19
Beresford8.4 miles10
Alcester10.2 miles10
Big Springs10.6 miles18

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 AlsenAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4735784The 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 1260973. 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.