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Eureka, South Dakota

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Eureka City. It lies in ZIP code area 57437. The Survey maps it on the Eureka East quadrangle. 813 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,890 feet above sea level.

Eureka within McPherson County

Population over time

2 figures

Eureka fell from 868 to 813 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
2010868
2020813-55 (-6%)

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

42 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 42 fires within 5 miles of Eureka between 1999 and 2020, burning about 760 acres in total. 3 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 use19
Debris and open burning11
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Natural3
Fireworks2

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 2002Equipment and vehicle use10 acresEureka Volunteer Fire DepartmentBRAD STABLER
31 August 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresMcPhersonHAY FIRE
25 August 2012Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionCITY CEMETERY
21 August 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionMILLER VEHICLE
20 August 2013Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresMcPhersonMEL HOFF
15 August 2000Equipment and vehicle use10 acresEureka Volunteer Fire DepartmentKERVIN MUTSCHLER
1 August 2003Equipment and vehicle use10 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
5 July 2017Natural10 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionKEITH MEHLHAFF

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in McPherson 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 Eureka: 1 past producer. None of them 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
Schnabal PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in McPherson County

Storms near this place

60 of 62 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Eureka in 62 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 31 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 2 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. 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 2006Tornado (F3)Eureka1 hurtA supercell thunderstorm produced an F3 tornado in southwest Mcpherson county. The tornado was on the ground for nearly a half hour and covered about 14 miles. The tornado touched down near the Campbell county line. There were four different sites damaged with the greatest damage 8 miles south of Eureka and 2 miles southeast of Hillsview. Damage included numerous power poles snapped off, trees shredded of leaves, bark and/or uprooted. Numerous livestock and deer were killed. Devastating damage was observed to farm equipment, homes, barns, grain bins, and vehicles. A well anchored mobile home was completely destroyed. Debris from each site was observed up to 3 miles away. One person received minor scrapes and bruises.
August 2020LightningEureka$1,000Lightning struck the roof of a garage, putting a large hole in it. There was smoke, but no fire.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindEureka-A trained spotter estimated winds topped out at 50 to 60 mph.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindEureka-A member of the public reported that thunderstorm wind gusts had torn shingled off of a roof.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindEureka-Estimated seventy-five mph winds blew the roof off a wood frame quonset with additional roof damage on a second outbuilding.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindEureka-Seventy mph winds downed two machine sheds with a window blown out of the home.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindEureka-Multiple large tree branches were downed in and around Eureka. A light tower and fence were also blown down at the town baseball field.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindEureka-Sixty mph winds were estimated by the public.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindEureka-Seventy mph winds downed many tree branches along with several trees in Eureka. Some power lines were also downed from falling branches.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindEureka-Sixty mph winds were estimated by the public in Eureka.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindEureka-Sixty mph winds were estimated by law enforcement.
August 2007Tornado (EF0)Eureka-A tornado touched down briefly just northwest of Eureka. No damage was reported.
June 2007Flash FloodEureka-Heavy rains caused flash flooding in Eureka. Several basements had water in them with some sewers backing up. One basement wall collapsed.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindEureka-Seventy mph wind gusts downed many large tree limbs in Eureka.
August 2003WildfireEureka-Dry conditions and strong winds allowed a previously extinguished fire to re-emerge in a hayfield and spread southeast. At one point the fire spread to four miles wide. The fire consumed 2000 acres of pastureland, two barns, an abandoned house, and 1800 hay bales. Fifty firefighters battled the blaze.
July 2001Tornado (F0)Eureka-A tornado touched down north of Eureka. The tornado remained in open country and caused no damage. Path length and width were estimated.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindEureka-Several trees and numerous tree branches were downed as a result of the high winds. Also some shingles were torn off of the house.
August 1997LightningEureka-Lightning struck an abandoned barn which caught fire and burned to the ground.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
July 2020Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
June 2020HailEureka-no account filed
June 2020HailEureka-no account filed
June 2019HailEureka-no account filed
September 2018HailEureka-no account filed
May 2018HailEureka-no account filed
May 2018HailEureka-no account filed
May 2018HailEureka-no account filed
May 2018HailEureka-no account filed
July 2013HailEureka-no account filed
September 2013Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
July 2011HailEureka-no account filed
July 2008HailEureka-no account filed
July 2008HailEureka-no account filed
July 2008HailEureka-no account filed
June 2007Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
June 2007HailEureka-no account filed
June 2007HailEureka-no account filed
June 2006HailEureka-no account filed
June 2006HailEureka-no account filed
August 2006HailEureka-no account filed
August 2006HailEureka-no account filed
August 2006HailEureka-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
May 2005HailEureka-no account filed
May 2005HailEureka-no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
July 2005HailEureka-no account filed
May 2004HailEureka-no account filed
May 2004HailEureka-no account filed
May 2004HailEureka-no account filed
August 2004HailEureka-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
August 2002HailEureka-no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
July 1996HailEureka-no account filed
July 1996HailEureka-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindEureka-no account filed
August 1996Tornado (F0)Eureka-no account filed

Every storm recorded in McPherson 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
Hillsview7.9 miles7
Greenway10.8 miles7
Madra12.2 miles7
Long Lake22.8 miles7
Leola36.1 miles8
Spring Creek Colony40.4 miles8
Long Lake Colony43.9 miles8
Grassland Colony44.5 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 EurekaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q666688The 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 1265640. 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.