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Wanblee, South Dakota

7 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 57577. The Survey maps it on the Wanblee quadrangle. 674 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,638 feet above sea level.

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Wanblee within Jackson County

Population over time

2 figures

Wanblee fell from 725 to 674 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
2010725
2020674-51 (-7%)

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.

Fires near this place

131 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 131 fires within 5 miles of Wanblee between 1997 and 2020, burning about 3,576 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 9 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/undetermined37
Misuse of fire by a minor28
Debris and open burning25
Natural9
Arson/incendiarism9
Fireworks8
Other causes6
Equipment and vehicle use4
Smoking4
Recreation and ceremony1

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 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acrePine Ridge AgencyWANBLEE CLINIC
8 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acrePine Ridge AgencyMOVES CAMP
8 September 2000Natural12 acresKadoka Volunteer Fire DepartmentALLEN BERRY
6 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undetermined30 acresMartin Volunteer Fire DepartmentWANBLEE LAGOON
6 September 2001Debris and open burning5.5 acresPine Ridge AgencyLAGOON
27 September 2015Misuse of fire by a minor13 acresPine Ridge AgencyWAMTON
26 September 2020Arson/incendiarismunder an acrePine Ridge AgencySTOP
24 September 2012Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acrePine Ridge AgencyPOW WOW II

Every fire recorded in Jackson County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Wanblee: 2 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Zeolites. 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
Unidentified OccurrenceZeolitesOccurrenceClinoptilolite
Unidentified OccurrenceZeolitesOccurrenceClinoptilolite

Every working recorded in Jackson County

Storms near this place

60 of 79 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wanblee in 79 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 45 thunderstorm wind, 29 hail, 3 tornado, 1 heavy rain. The reports record 2 injuries. 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 2001Thunderstorm WindWanblee2 hurt, $382,500no account filed
March 2019FloodWanblee$250,000Ice jams, combined with runoff from melted snow, caused minor to moderate flooding along the White River and other small creeks in Jackson County. Minor flooding occurred near Interior from March 22 through March 25. Further downstream, south of Kadoka, moderate flooding occurred with widespread flooding of agricultural land and outbuildings. On March 25, the high flows eroded away the river bank where the stream gage south of Kadoka was located. Based on high water marks, the USGS determined the river crested at 15.34 feet at the old location and 16.72 feet at the new upstream location. This would be the fourth highest river level at this location and the highest river level since 1982. Additional flooding occurred around the Long Valley and Wanblee areas, including along Fish Creek Road, where a county bridge was destroyed by flood waters.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindWanblee$10,000The combination of hail and wind produced minor damage to a home and automobile.
June 2010HailWanblee$3,000Quarter sized hail and gusty winds broke windows of houses and produced hail drifts.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindWanblee-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindWanblee-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWanblee-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWanblee-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWanblee-SD Mesonet recorded wind gust.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWanblee-Half inch sized hail also fell with the storm.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWanblee-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWanblee-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindWanblee-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindWanblee-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2013Heavy RainWanblee-Runoff from 2.15 inches of rain caused minor flooding along Pass Creek.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindWanblee-Wind gusts were estimated at 70 mph.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindWanblee-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindWanblee-Police officers estimated wind gusts of 60 mph.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindWanblee-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindWanblee-Wind gusts were estimated around 70 mph.
June 2007HailWanblee-Winds estimated at 40 mph accompanied the hail.
August 2004Tornado (F0)Wanblee-Tornado was on the ground for 5 minutes with no damage reported.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
June 2024HailWanblee-no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
September 2024Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
April 2023Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
June 2023Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
August 2022Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
July 2022Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
July 2022Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
May 2020HailWanblee-no account filed
May 2020HailWanblee-no account filed
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
August 2020Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
August 2020HailWanblee-no account filed
June 2020Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
July 2019Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
May 2018Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
August 2018Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
May 2018Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
June 2016Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
September 2016HailWanblee-no account filed
September 2016Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
July 2015Thunderstorm WindWanblee-no account filed
May 2013HailWanblee-no account filed
June 2013HailWanblee-no account filed
May 2012HailWanblee-no account filed
May 2012HailWanblee-no account filed
August 2011HailWanblee-no account filed
July 2010HailWanblee-no account filed
July 2009HailWanblee-no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindWanblee-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
Long Valley11.5 miles5
Hisle12.3 miles5
Weta14.5 miles6
Potato Creek17.6 miles6
Sevenmile Corner18.4 miles6
Kadoka Junction19.8 miles6
Kadoka19.9 miles6
Interior20.3 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 WanbleeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2115394The 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 1267247. 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.