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Bear Creek, South Dakota

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the North Dewey unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57636. It stands on Elm Creek. The Survey maps it on the Lantry quadrangle.

Bear Creek within Dewey County

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 7 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

103 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 103 fires within 5 miles of Bear Creek between 1992 and 2020, burning about 305 acres in total. 10 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
Equipment and vehicle use31
Missing data/not specified/undetermined16
Misuse of fire by a minor13
Debris and open burning11
Natural10
Fireworks8
Recreation and ceremony4
Other causes4
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Smoking2

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 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCheyenne River AgencyH-D
5 September 2001Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCheyenne River AgencyAREICHART
24 September 2009Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreCheyenne River AgencyOVERFLOW
22 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.1 acresCheyenne River AgencyCLIFF HANGER
20 September 1997Misuse of fire by a minor2.5 acresCheyenne River AgencyBEARCREEK
2 September 2012Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCheyenne River AgencyBEAR CREEK
18 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCheyenne River AgencyKIRBY
15 September 1995Debris and open burningunder an acreCheyenne River AgencyJOCHIM

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Dewey 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 Bear Creek: 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
Bear Creek PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Dewey County

Storms near this place

37 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bear Creek in 37 storm reports between 2001 and 2025: 22 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 5 flood, 1 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 2010Flash FloodBear Creek$100,000Very heavy rains of 4 to 7 inches caused flash flooding in several areas along Highway 212 from west of Lantry to Eagle Butte. Several homes and businesses along with most roads in Eagle Butte were flooded with quite a bit of damage received.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-A peak wind gust of 73 mph was recorded at the South Dakota State University mesonet station six miles north-northwest of Lantry.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-A public caller stated that thunderstorm wind gusts uprooted trees.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-Sixty mph winds were estimated.
June 2014FloodBear Creek-The Moreau River near Whitehorse went above flood stage rising to 22.3 feet on the June 21st. The flood stage near Whitehorse is 21 feet. The river flooded a few roads on the Cheyenne River Reservation.
March 2011FloodBear Creek-Snowmelt runoff caused the Moreau River to rise above the flood stage of 21 feet on March 17th. The river rose to near 27 feet on March 20th before falling quickly back to below flood stage on March 21st. Pasture and agricultural land along with a few roads were flooded as a result. Some homes were also threatened by the river. The ice on the river also broke several power poles leaving some people without power.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-One hundred mph winds overturned and severely damaged a mobile home north of Lantry. The occupants in the mobile home received only minor injuries.
June 2010HailBear Creek-Golfball size hail broke the windshield on a vehicle.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-Winds gusting to near 110 mph were measured near Bear Creek.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
July 2024HailBear Creek-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
May 2021Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
June 2021Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
March 2019FloodBear Creek-no account filed
July 2019Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
August 2016Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
March 2014FloodBear Creek-no account filed
July 2013Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
June 2012Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
August 2011HailBear Creek-no account filed
July 2011HailBear Creek-no account filed
July 2011HailBear Creek-no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
June 2010Funnel CloudBear Creek-no account filed
April 2010HailBear Creek-no account filed
July 2010HailBear Creek-no account filed
June 2010FloodBear Creek-no account filed
May 2009Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
June 2008HailBear Creek-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindBear Creek-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Dewey 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
Lantry3.4 miles7
North Eagle Butte11.9 miles7
Eagle Butte12.0 miles7
Green Grass13.0 miles8
Parade18.3 miles7
Isabel22.9 miles7
Firesteel26.4 miles7
Thatcher27.6 miles7

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.

Wikidata item Q141614661The 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 1253809. 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.