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Wakpala, South Dakota

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the East Corson unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57658. The Survey maps it on the Wakpala quadrangle. 267 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,726 feet above sea level.

Wakpala within Corson County

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

231 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 231 fires within 5 miles of Wakpala between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,736 acres in total. 11 started naturally. 49 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined49
Arson/incendiarism49
Debris and open burning37
Fireworks31
Equipment and vehicle use20
Misuse of fire by a minor16
Natural11
Other causes9
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Smoking2
Recreation and ceremony2
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
8 September 2014Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreStanding Rock AgencyDITCH 1
6 September 1997Natural50 acresStanding Rock AgencyNOBODYHOME
5 September 2012Debris and open burning140 acresStanding Rock AgencyMOON BOOTS
4 September 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreStanding Rock AgencyTRACTOR
3 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreStanding Rock AgencyLESMEISTER
26 September 2015Arson/incendiarism2.5 acresStanding Rock AgencyTIRE
26 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresStanding Rock AgencyWAKPALA2
25 September 2014Other causes40 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionWHEAT STUBLE BURN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Corson County

Storms near this place

39 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wakpala in 39 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 17 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 7 flood, 3 flash 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
March 2009FloodWakpala$50,000no account filed
September 2025Tornado (EFU)Wakpala-Storm chasers reported a brief tornado touchdown over open land, roughly 8 miles northeast of Wakpala, SD. No damage was reported.
June 2023FloodWakpala-Oak Creek near Wakpala, at the WKPS2 gauge, rose into minor flood stage of 10.0 feet at 3:00 pm MDT on June 25th, crested at 11.8 feet at 7:45 pm MDT on the 25th, and then fell below flood stage at 7:15 am MDT on the 26th. Agricultural land was impacted.
July 2018Flash FloodWakpala-Very heavy rains caused flash flooding on Oak Creek near Wakpala. Oak creek rose 10 feet in a short period of time reaching 15 feet in the early morning. The creek then crested at 16.34 feet in the mid morning hours to just over major flood stage. Oak Creek then fell slowly into the afternoon and evening hours to below flood stage. Some agricultural land and roads were flooded.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWakpala-Seventy mph winds downed the empty water tower in Wakpala.
June 2014Flash FloodWakpala-Very heavy rains brought flash flooding with water running over U.S. Highway 12 west of the Grand River Casino.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindWakpala-Seventy mph winds were estimated.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindWakpala-Sixty mph winds downed several tree branches and moved an empty hay trailer.
October 1997Thunderstorm WindWakpala-Roofing material from two homes were blown off and impacted nearby homes.
October 1997Thunderstorm WindWakpala-A window was blown out of a home by blowing debris.
May 2025FloodWakpala-no account filed
May 2025FloodWakpala-no account filed
May 2025FloodWakpala-no account filed
April 2023FloodWakpala-no account filed
May 2022FloodWakpala-no account filed
July 2020HailWakpala-no account filed
July 2019HailWakpala-no account filed
June 2018HailWakpala-no account filed
July 2017HailWakpala-no account filed
May 2016HailWakpala-no account filed
May 2016HailWakpala-no account filed
June 2014HailWakpala-no account filed
June 2014HailWakpala-no account filed
August 2014HailWakpala-no account filed
August 2012HailWakpala-no account filed
July 2008HailWakpala-no account filed
July 2008HailWakpala-no account filed
June 2008HailWakpala-no account filed
June 2007HailWakpala-no account filed
July 2007Thunderstorm WindWakpala-no account filed
August 2007HailWakpala-no account filed
August 2007HailWakpala-no account filed
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWakpala-no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindWakpala-no account filed
August 1999Thunderstorm WindWakpala-no account filed
June 1998HailWakpala-no account filed
July 1997Flash FloodWakpala-no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindWakpala-no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindWakpala-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Corson 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
Jeffrey (historical)5.2 miles8
Snake Creek5.7 miles8
Mahto10.2 miles7
Little Eagle14.3 miles8
Kenel14.4 miles8
McLaughlin18.2 miles8
Maple Leaf26.4 miles7
Bullhead29.9 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 WakpalaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7961208The 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 1258794. 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.