Porcupine, South Dakota
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the East Oglala Lakota unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57772. The Survey maps it on the Wounded Knee quadrangle. 925 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,192 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresPorcupine fell from 1,062 to 925 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,062 | |
| 2020 | 925 | -137 (-13%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
3 surveys from 8 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1955 USGS Hot Springs quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1967 USGS Wounded Knee quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Pine Ridge quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
425 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 425 fires within 5 miles of Porcupine between 1992 and 2020, burning about 4,267 acres in total. 41 started naturally. 4 were 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 134 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 68 |
| Other causes | 62 |
| Natural | 41 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 37 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 31 |
| Fireworks | 28 |
| Smoking | 12 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2017 | Natural | under an acre | Pine Ridge Agency | LB ONE |
| 8 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Pine Ridge Agency | OLD CLOTHES |
| 7 September 2001 | Natural | 2.0 acres | Pine Ridge Agency | IRON CLOUD |
| 6 September 2012 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Pine Ridge Agency | KINGSTON |
| 6 September 2012 | Fireworks | under an acre | Pine Ridge Agency | FLOATING FLAME |
| 6 September 2003 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Pine Ridge Agency | VERY |
| 5 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Pine Ridge Agency | MOOSE |
| 4 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Pine Ridge Agency | SMOKE POLE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 92 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Porcupine in 92 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 55 thunderstorm wind, 33 hail, 2 tornado, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2015 | Hail | Porcupine | $50,000 | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | $25,000 | Strong winds to 80 mph damaged roofs of several buildings, including the clinic; sheds, and trees in an area about one and a half mile around the community. |
| June 2007 | Tornado (EF1) | Porcupine | $25,000 | A tornado touched down about nine miles south of Kyle at 310 pm MDT, just west of American Horse Creek Road. It traveled to the northeast, crossed into Bennett County, and dissipated six miles southeast of Kyle at 335 pm MDT. Several power poles were broken and trees were blown over along American Horse Creek Road. A mobile home was also damaged. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Porcupine | $20,000 | Hail to golf ball size damaged vehicles, trees, and a house. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | $10,000 | A newly-built house was shifted off its foundation by strong wind gusts. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Porcupine | $5,000 | The combination of hail and wind broke all windows on the west side of the house. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | SD mesonet recorded wind gust. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | SD mesonet recorded wind gust. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | Wind gusts were estimated at near 60 mph. |
| August 2022 | Flash Flood | Porcupine | - | Runoff from heavy rain caused water to run over roads in Porcupine. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | A 40 foot long trailer house was destroyed, outbuildings were damaged, and hay bales rolled a quarter of a mile. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| July 2019 | Hail | Porcupine | - | Wind gusts to 50 mph accompanied the storm. |
| July 2016 | Hail | Porcupine | - | Hail to golf ball size covered the ground. |
| July 2016 | Tornado (EF0) | Porcupine | - | The spotter observed a tornado southeast of Porcupine for about two minutes before it became rain wrapped. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | Time is ob time; check time on radar. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | Strong winds broke large branches off trees. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | Wind gusts to 60 mph were reported east of Porcupine. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | Wind gusts to 60 mph were reported. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | Winds were estimated at 60 mph. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | Corn crops were damaged by the wind. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | An 86 mph wind gust was recorded by the Porcupine RAWS. |
| May 2008 | Flood | Porcupine | - | Minor flooding was observed along the White River and its tributaries. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Hail | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Hail | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Hail | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Hail | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Hail | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Hail | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2014 | Hail | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Porcupine | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evergreen | 5.2 miles | 8 | |
| Wounded Knee | 7.1 miles | 8 | |
| Manderson | 7.4 miles | 8 | |
| Sharps Corner | 11.0 miles | 9 | |
| Denby | 12.3 miles | 8 | |
| Wakpamani | 12.7 miles | 9 | |
| Batesland | 14.3 miles | 8 | |
| Kyle | 15.2 miles | 8 |
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 Porcupine | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1787175 | The 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 1257179. 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.
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.


