Timber Lake, South Dakota
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the North Dewey unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57656. The Survey maps it on the Timber Lake quadrangle. 509 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,169 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Timber Lake
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
- Drees Brothers General Mechandiselisted 1998
Population over time
2 figuresTimber Lake grew from 443 to 509 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 | 443 | |
| 2020 | 509 | +66 (+15%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 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.
- 1953 USGS McIntosh quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS McIntosh quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS Timber Lake quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Timber Lake quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
54 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 54 fires within 5 miles of Timber Lake between 1993 and 2019, burning about 1,566 acres in total. 18 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 18 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 16 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Fireworks | 5 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1.4 acres | Cheyenne River Agency | SLIM |
| 8 August 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2.0 acres | Standing Rock Agency | NORTH BULLHEAD |
| 5 August 2007 | Other causes | under an acre | Cheyenne River Agency | KRAFT |
| 23 August 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Cheyenne River Agency | SHOE - M |
| 21 August 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.5 acres | Cheyenne River Agency | STAND DOWN |
| 2 August 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | not named |
| 13 August 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.5 acres | Cheyenne River Agency | BIEGLER |
| 11 August 2018 | Other causes | under an acre | Cheyenne River Agency | FOX DEN |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Timber Lake: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Beer Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Lamb Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Swede Marshall Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
56 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Timber Lake in 56 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 31 hail, 23 thunderstorm wind, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber lake | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | Sixty mph winds were estimated. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | Sixty-five mph winds caused tree branches to fall on some homes and cars causing some damage. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | A seventy-four mph wind gust measured at the Timber Lake SDSU Observation site. Several trees were toppled within the town of Timber Lake. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | Winds up to 80 mph severely damaged a barn, downed some power poles along with many trees and branches in and around Timber Lake. Also, several vehicles and many acres of crops were damaged by the hail and high winds. The Little Moreau Elk Lodge roof was damaged and some windows were broken. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | Large branches were downed by the high winds. |
| June 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Timber Lake | - | A brief touchdown of a weak narrow path tornado occurred 1 mile north of Timber Lake. Path length and width were estimated. |
| October 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | A mobile home being pulled by a semi was rolled and completely destroyed. Some homes and farms in the vicinity also sustained damage from the strong straight line winds. A porch attached to a trailer home was destroyed, a shed lost it's roof, and old barns and grain bins were also damaged. The strong winds also lifted some shingles on a home, blew down power lines and ripped a satellite dish completely off it's supports. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2021 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2020 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2020 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2020 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2018 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| February 2009 | Flood | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 1998 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Hail | Timber Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Timber Lake | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glencross | 8.2 miles | 7 | |
| Firesteel | 11.2 miles | 7 | |
| Whitehorse | 14.8 miles | 8 | |
| Yellowhorse Ford | 17.9 miles | 8 | |
| Trail City | 18.7 miles | 7 | |
| Isabel | 19.0 miles | 7 | |
| Green Grass | 20.0 miles | 8 | |
| Promise | 25.8 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 Timber Lake | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2577083 | 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 1258560. 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.



