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Potato Creek, South Dakota

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1950 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Southwest Jackson unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57750. It stands on Bull Creek. The Survey maps it on the Potato Creek quadrangle.

Potato Creek within Jackson County

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 6 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

45 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 45 fires within 5 miles of Potato Creek between 1993 and 2020, burning about 5,863 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 3 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
Natural9
Missing data/not specified/undetermined9
Debris and open burning6
Misuse of fire by a minor6
Equipment and vehicle use4
Other causes3
Arson/incendiarism3
Smoking2
Fireworks2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
5 September 2000Naturalunder an acreInterior Volunteer Fire DepartmentGUPTILL
30 September 2012Debris and open burningunder an acrePine Ridge AgencyA & W
15 September 2000Natural5,000 acresInterior Volunteer Fire DepartmentREDWATER/LENZGRAF
4 August 2011Natural1.0 acresPine Ridge AgencyHAY FIELD
3 August 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresKadoka Volunteer Fire DepartmentGRASS1
3 August 1996Natural1.0 acresPine Ridge AgencySPUDCREEK
26 August 2020Natural43 acresPine Ridge Agency2 STACKS
26 August 2003Arson/incendiarism90 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named

Every fire recorded in Jackson County

Storms near this place

50 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Potato Creek in 50 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 26 hail, 18 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 heavy rain. 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 2013HailPotato Creek$30,000no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek$20,000Wind driven hail up to quarter size broke house and car windows and uprooted trees.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Estimated wind gust report.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-A mobile home was rolled over.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Roof was torn off of a house.
October 2023FloodPotato Creek-Runoff from an estimated three to four inches of rain over 24 hours in the Badlands caused minor flooding of the White River around Interior. Agricultural land along the White River was inundated and the water approached highway 44, north of the river. The White River near Interior river gage crested at 14.83 feet and 12,800 cfs at 745 AM MDT.
June 2020HailPotato Creek-Wind gusts reached 40 mph.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Several vehicles blown off the road at the intersection of SD Highway 44 and BIA 2.
June 2018Flash FloodPotato Creek-Runoff from brief heavy rain flooded BIA Highway 2 at Potato Creek. Water was flowing over the road just east of the Potato Creek bridge. The runoff also caused street flooding in Potato Creek.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-A lot of pea size hail fell with the storm.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Drifts of pea size hail were also reported.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-A spotter reported wind gusts to 70 mph.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Estimated wind gusts of 60 mph.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-Large trees were bent over in the wind.
May 2007Heavy RainPotato Creek-About 3 inches of rain fell during the afternoon. Stock dams filled and water ran over the tops. Minor flooding of some roads was reported.
June 2001HailPotato Creek-A severe thunderstorm produced dime to nickle sized hail.
June 1999Tornado (F0)Potato Creek-This tornado originated in Shannon County 5 miles southwest of Kyle. Path width and length estimated from law enforcement report.
June 2024HailPotato Creek-no account filed
September 2024HailPotato Creek-no account filed
May 2020HailPotato Creek-no account filed
May 2020HailPotato Creek-no account filed
July 2020HailPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2020HailPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2020HailPotato Creek-no account filed
July 2019HailPotato Creek-no account filed
August 2019HailPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2018HailPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2018HailPotato Creek-no account filed
August 2016HailPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2012HailPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2010HailPotato Creek-no account filed
September 2008HailPotato Creek-no account filed
May 2007HailPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2007HailPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2007Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2007HailPotato Creek-no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2005Tornado (F0)Potato Creek-no account filed
June 2005Tornado (F0)Potato Creek-no account filed
July 2005HailPotato Creek-no account filed
June 2004HailPotato Creek-no account filed
July 2003HailPotato Creek-no account filed
July 2001HailPotato Creek-no account filed
July 1999HailPotato Creek-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jackson 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
Interior13.3 miles6
Hisle15.4 miles5
Wanblee17.6 miles7
Cactus Flat21.4 miles6
Weta22.0 miles6
Long Valley26.7 miles5
Sevenmile Corner27.2 miles6
Cottonwood30.2 miles6

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 Potato CreekAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q23709413The 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 1267234. 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.