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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

Timber Lake within Dewey County

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

Population over time

2 figures

Timber 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.

YearPeople Change
2010443
2020509+66 (+15%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 8 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

54 since 1993

Regional 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
Natural18
Equipment and vehicle use16
Debris and open burning5
Fireworks5
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Smoking2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Other causes2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

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
7 September 2017Power generation/transmission/distribution1.4 acresCheyenne River AgencySLIM
8 August 2016Misuse of fire by a minor2.0 acresStanding Rock AgencyNORTH BULLHEAD
5 August 2007Other causesunder an acreCheyenne River AgencyKRAFT
23 August 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCheyenne River AgencySHOE - M
21 August 2008Equipment and vehicle use3.5 acresCheyenne River AgencySTAND DOWN
2 August 2006Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
13 August 2014Equipment and vehicle use1.5 acresCheyenne River AgencyBIEGLER
11 August 2018Other causesunder an acreCheyenne River AgencyFOX DEN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Dewey County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
John Beer PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Lamb PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Swede Marshall PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Dewey County

Storms near this place

56 since 1994

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 1994Thunderstorm WindTimber lake$5,000no account filed
August 2020Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-Sixty mph winds were estimated.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-Sixty mph winds were estimated.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-Sixty-five mph winds caused tree branches to fall on some homes and cars causing some damage.
March 2012Thunderstorm WindTimber 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 2008Thunderstorm WindTimber 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 2006Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-Large branches were downed by the high winds.
June 1997Tornado (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 1997Thunderstorm WindTimber 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 2025Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
July 2025Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
July 2025HailTimber Lake-no account filed
May 2024Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
July 2022HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2021Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2021HailTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2021HailTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2021Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2021Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2021Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2020HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2020HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2020HailTimber Lake-no account filed
July 2018HailTimber Lake-no account filed
May 2013HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2011Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
February 2009FloodTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2008HailTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2008HailTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2008HailTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2008HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2008Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2008HailTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2007HailTimber Lake-no account filed
July 2006HailTimber Lake-no account filed
July 2005HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2004HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2004HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2004HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2004HailTimber Lake-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2002HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2002HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 2002HailTimber Lake-no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2000HailTimber Lake-no account filed
June 2000HailTimber Lake-no account filed
August 1998HailTimber Lake-no account filed
May 1996HailTimber Lake-no account filed
June 1996HailTimber Lake-no account filed
July 1995HailTimber Lake-no account filed
July 1995HailTimber Lake-no account filed
July 1994Thunderstorm WindTimber Lake-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Dewey 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
Glencross8.2 miles7
Firesteel11.2 miles7
Whitehorse14.8 miles8
Yellowhorse Ford17.9 miles8
Trail City18.7 miles7
Isabel19.0 miles7
Green Grass20.0 miles8
Promise25.8 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 Timber LakeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2577083The 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.