BlockBefore

Burke, South Dakota

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the West Gregory unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57523. The Survey maps it on the Burke quadrangle. 575 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,195 feet above sea level.

Burke within Gregory County

On record in Burke

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Burke fell from 604 to 575 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
2010604
2020575-29 (-5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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

17 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 17 fires within 5 miles of Burke between 2002 and 2020, burning about 166 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/undetermined13
Equipment and vehicle use2
Debris and open burning2

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
22 September 2020Equipment and vehicle use25 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionELLWANGER
29 July 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreBurke Volunteer Fire DepartmentGOLF COURSE
28 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
26 July 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresGregory CountyJOHNSON 2
25 July 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresGregory CountyJOHNSON
24 July 2006Equipment and vehicle use1.9 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
4 June 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionVOSIKA DITCH FIRE
27 June 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresBurke Volunteer Fire DepartmentOPPERMAN

Every fire recorded in Gregory County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Burke: 1 producer, 1 past producer. 1 still produces. 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
Burke Sand & Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Cahill PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Gregory County

Storms near this place

48 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Burke in 48 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 32 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 tornado. The reports record 2 injuries. 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
August 2019Tornado (EF1)Burke2 hurt, $7,000,000A tornado developed and touched down in the heart of town near Washington and 7th streets, causing damage to several trees at the touchdown point. Shortly after, the tornado severely damaged several structures while tracking south, including leveling several buildings at the lumber yard, destroying the civic center, and causing significant damage to the school. The start of the school year was delayed by two weeks due to extent of the damage. Two people were (directly) injured by debris when a garage collapsed on them while moving vehicles to safety. Numerous power transmission poles and lines were removed by the tornado. Around 2 miles south southeast of Burke, the tornado struck a residence causing severe damage to the roof. Shortly thereafter, the tornado lifted before reaching the intersection of 295th Street and 345th Avenue after traveling a bit less than 4 miles. The path width reached a maximum of 75 yards within the city of Burke. Up to 3000 trees were damaged by the tornado in and near Burke. Property damage costs are rough estimates.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindBurke$100,000A metal building was destroyed by strong thunderstorm winds.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindBurke$50,000A radio antenna tower and many trees were blown down.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindBurke$25,000Numerous large branches were brought down on power transmission lines in the city of Burke.
June 2008HailBurke$5,000Large hail severely damaged 500 acres of oat, corn, and sunflower crops on one farm. The amount of crop damage was not known. The hail also broke windows on one side of a house on the farm, and damaged the siding and roof of the house.
July 2025HailBurke-Hail occurred for 15 minutes, as size varied from quarters to golf balls. Most hail was quarter to half-dollar size.
September 2021HailBurke-Hail was accompanied by strong wind, but there was no damage.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindBurke-Winds downed at least six large pine, spruce and cedar trees.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindBurke-Thunderstorm winds flattened corn, laying to the southwest.
July 2018Flash FloodBurke-With over 2.50 inches rainfall by 1800CST, water was flowing well over the curbs in Burke.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindBurke-Thunderstorm winds blew deck furniture across a yard and caused tree damage.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindBurke-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous limbs blown down.
August 2009HailBurke-Large hail damaged vehicles and broke windows, and damaged area crops. The amount of local property and crop damage was not known; the hail being part of a long swath that affected part of the county. The hail was accompanied by wind gusts up to 60 mph.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindBurke-Large hail caused tree damage, including 30 year old trees blown down. The winds were accompanied by large hail, and added to crop damage in the area caused by the hail.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindBurke-A damaging thunderstorm wind gust was measured by a privately owned anemometer.
June 2008Flash FloodBurke-Heavy rain caused flash flooding of several roads and fields.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindBurke-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including a few large limbs blown down.
April 2007HailBurke-Large hail up to baseball size covered the ground. The hail caused extensive damage to vehicles, windows, siding, and roofs. Most of the roofs in the town of Burke were determined to need replacement as the sheeting under the shingles was severely damaged. The amount of the damage was not yet determined.
August 2005HailBurke-Hail covered the ground.
August 2004HailBurke-Large hail was mostly dime size, with a few golf ball size stones.
August 2002HailBurke-Large hail caused an unknown amount of damage to windows, vehicles, and crops.
July 2024HailBurke-no account filed
June 2021HailBurke-no account filed
August 2019HailBurke-no account filed
June 2017HailBurke-no account filed
June 2013HailBurke-no account filed
June 2013HailBurke-no account filed
May 2010HailBurke-no account filed
May 2010HailBurke-no account filed
July 2008HailBurke-no account filed
June 2008HailBurke-no account filed
August 2008HailBurke-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBurke-no account filed
May 2007HailBurke-no account filed
May 2007HailBurke-no account filed
September 2007HailBurke-no account filed
September 2007Thunderstorm WindBurke-no account filed
August 2005HailBurke-no account filed
July 2004HailBurke-no account filed
July 2004HailBurke-no account filed
June 2003HailBurke-no account filed
June 2003HailBurke-no account filed
August 2002HailBurke-no account filed
May 2000HailBurke-no account filed
July 1999HailBurke-no account filed
June 1999HailBurke-no account filed
May 1998HailBurke-no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindBurke-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Gregory 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
Herrick7.2 miles8
Gregory8.1 miles8
Lucas8.4 miles9
Carlock10.3 miles8
Saint Charles12.3 miles8
Dallas12.5 miles8
Dixon16.9 miles8
Bonesteel19.8 miles9

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 BurkeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2725777The 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 1254165. 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.