Red Elm, South Dakota

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the South Ziebach unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57623. The Survey maps it on the Red Elm quadrangle.

Red Elm within Ziebach 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.

1953 USGS McIntosh quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1958 USGS McIntosh quadrangle1:250000
1982 USGS Red Elm quadrangle1:24000
1986 USGS Timber Lake quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings

Fires near this place

35 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 35 fires within 5 miles of Red Elm between 1996 and 2020, burning about 526 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 2 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
Equipment and vehicle use	10
Natural	9
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	7
Power generation/transmission/distribution	3
Other causes	2
Arson/incendiarism	2
Debris and open burning	2

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 1998	Natural	53 acres	Cheyenne River Agency	RUSS
9 September 1998	Natural	54 acres	Cheyenne River Agency	BIGLER
5 September 2000	Natural	23 acres	Cheyenne River Agency	SHOWER2
5 September 2000	Natural	1.4 acres	Cheyenne River Agency	SHOWER1
5 September 1996	Natural	under an acre	Cheyenne River Agency	EATONS
25 September 2017	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	HOT BALE FIRE
19 September 2005	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	160 acres	South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression	not named
15 September 2017	Other causes	under an acre	Cheyenne River Agency	HOT BALE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Ziebach County

Storms near this place

60 of 91 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Red Elm in 91 storm reports between 2002 and 2024: 45 thunderstorm wind, 35 hail, 7 tornado, 2 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
May 2019	Flash Flood	Red Elm	$750,000	Three to five inches of rain fell in about two hours over portions of southern Ziebach County, causing rapid rises on small creeks and overland flooding of rural areas. Several county and BIA roads were washed out, including Dupree Road and BIA 9. US Highway 212 near mile marker 121 was also inundated.
May 2009	Tornado (EF1)	Red Elm	$100,000	A tornado touched down west of Dupree and tracked eastward before dissipating northeast of Dupree. It dented several grain bins, blew over a small mobile home and semi trailer truck, tore sheet metal off sheds, and toppled a large communications tower.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	$10,000	The combination of hail and wind damaged a house and vehicles.
June 2010	Tornado (EF1)	Red Elm	$10,000	Another tornado touched down southwest of Dupree and crossed U.S. Highway 212. It blew down several power poles. A small satellite tornado was observed at 1730 MST.
June 2012	Hail	Red Elm	$10,000	no account filed
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	$5,000	A spotter estimated wind gusts reached 80 mph.
June 2012	Hail	Red Elm	$5,000	no account filed
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	$2,000	Large tree branches were downed by the wind and steel siding was ripped off a barn.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
June 2023	Flash Flood	Red Elm	-	Four to six inches of rain fell in three hours between Red Elm and Dupree. The water quickly entered Bear Creek, which became about a quarter mile wide; inundating roads, fields, crops, and outbuildings. Water approached a residence near Red Elm and a home near Dupree. Water covered portions of 216th Avenue and 217th Avenue.
June 2023	Flood	Red Elm	-	The flash flooding transitioned to flooding as high flows continued on Bear Creek after four to six inches of rain fell in three hours between Red Elm and Dupree. Bear Creek was reported to be a quarter mile wide in spots; which inundated roads, fields, crops, and outbuildings. Water approached a residence near Red Elm and a home near Dupree. Water covered portions of 216th Avenue and 217th Avenue.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	The spotter estimated wind gusts near 70 mph.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	The spotter estimated wind gusts at near 80 mph.
May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
May 2019	Flood	Red Elm	-	As the flash flooding ended, minor flooding continued along area creeks, with overland flooding of rural areas.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
September 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	The spotter estimated gusts at 60 mph.
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	The spotter estimated wind gusts reached 60 mph.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	Wind gusts were estimated around 60 mph.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	Wind gusts were estimated at 70 mph.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	Wind gusts were estimated at 70 mph.
April 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2010	Hail	Red Elm	-	A storm chaser observed half dollar sized hail, with some stones the size of tennis balls.
June 2010	Tornado (EF0)	Red Elm	-	A small tornado briefly touched down south of Red Elm.
June 2010	Tornado (EF0)	Red Elm	-	A small tornado briefly touched down southwest of Dupree. Two small needle-shaped satellite tornadoes were observed in the same area at 1640 MST and 1641 MST.
May 2009	Tornado (EF0)	Red Elm	-	A storm chaser briefly observed a small tornado before rain obscured his view. Its location, length, and width were estimated. No damage was reported.
July 2008	Tornado (EF1)	Red Elm	-	A tornado touched down just east of Rattlesnake Butte in western Ziebach County. It traveled southeastward across open range and dissipated near Cherry Creek Road south of Dupree. The tornado caused no damage, but apparently picked up several cattle that were killed when they hit the ground. Several more cattle were injured.
July 2008	Tornado (EF0)	Red Elm	-	A smaller rope tornado developed behind the large tornado. Its path location, length, and width were estimated from spotter reports and photographs.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
July 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
August 2021	Hail	Red Elm	-	no account filed
July 2020	Hail	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
August 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
July 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Red Elm	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Red Elm	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Red Elm	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2012	Hail	Red Elm	-	no account filed
June 2012	Hail	Red Elm	-	no account filed
July 2012	Hail	Red Elm	-	no account filed
July 2012	Hail	Red Elm	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Ziebach 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Iron Lightning	9.2 miles	7
Dupree	9.7 miles	7
Chase	11.4 miles	6
Allison Crossing	12.2 miles	7
Thunder Butte	12.4 miles	8
Red Scaffold	20.1 miles	6
Glad Valley	23.7 miles	8
Cherry Creek	34.5 miles	8

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1257307. 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.