Burnett County, Wisconsin

63 topographic sheets cover 23 settlements here, and 3 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

3 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Wisconsin within the United States

Burnett County within Wisconsin

What the record shows

305 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
3 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 3 buildings.
The Geographic Names Information System records 23 populated places in this county; 23 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Property	Type	Listed	Reference
Burnett County Abstract Company	building	1980	80000109
Daniels Town Hall	building	2006	06001154
Jacobson House and Mill Site	building	1980	80000110

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

1,350 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 1,350 of them, burning about 2,621 acres. 68 started naturally and 88 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	402
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	281
Equipment and vehicle use	197
Arson/incendiarism	88
Recreation and ceremony	86
Fireworks	71
Natural	68
Power generation/transmission/distribution	50
Other causes	43
Smoking	40
Misuse of fire by a minor	21
Railroad operations and maintenance	3

The five largest, by the area the report gives. Two of them were set deliberately.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
1 October 2013	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	656 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	CRANBERRY
30 March 2000	Arson/incendiarism	170 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
15 April 2010	Debris and open burning	113 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	SKOG ROAD
15 April 2004	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	71 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
29 March 1993	Debris and open burning	70 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
24 October 1999	Debris and open burning	44 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
29 July 1999	Natural	37 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	not named
9 July 2009	Arson/incendiarism	36 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	GRASS LAKE FIRE

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1953 to 2025

60 of 325 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 325 reports for this county, causing 4 deaths, 25 injuries and about $13,329,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event	Reports
Hail	150
Thunderstorm Wind	147
Tornado	15
Flash Flood	7
Lightning	3
Flood	3

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 2001	Tornado (F3)	Grantsburg	2 killed, 16 hurt, $10,000,000	The tornado touched down at 806 pm local daylight time 1.5 miles east of Grantsburg and traveled east at an average speed of 40 mph through the village of Siren to the Washburn County line, then continued on to a point 3 miles west of Spooner. The path of the tornado averaged 1/8 to 1/4 mile, but reached its greatest width of ½ mile as it approached Siren around 820 pm, where it did F-3 damage. Two people were killed by the tornado, and there were 16 injuries. Four hundred homes were destroyed, 200 in Siren alone, with 280 homes damaged, and 60 businesses destroyed or damaged. Most of the damage occurred in an 8-block area of Siren. Approximately 14,000 acres of trees were leveled along the tornado path. The two people killed were in Dewey Township, about 14 miles east of Siren. An 80-year-old woman was crushed by a falling wall while trying to get to the basement, and a 77-year-old man was found dead about 100 yards from his demolished home, presumably thrown there by tornado-force winds. Many buildings in the path of the tornado through Dewey Township, including the Dewey Town Hall, were destroyed as well. Power lines, trees, and buildings were also damaged or destroyed at Alpha, Falun, and Mud Hen Lake along the path of the tornado between Grantsburg and Siren. Fifteen cows were lost when a barn collapsed near Falun. Some were killed outright. Others were injured and had to be put down.
May 1953	Tornado (F2)	not stated	1 killed, 9 hurt, $2,500,000	no account filed
July 2011	Lightning	Hertel	1 killed	An eleven year old girl was killed while trying to escape the approaching storm. Lightning struck a tree and the tree fell on the girl, killing her. The tree was so large that it took 20 men to remove it.
August 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Webster	$250,000	An isolated severe thunderstorm produced a wicked wet microburst whose violent winds and large hail did considerable damage in Webster (about $250 thousand). Twenty homes and four businesses sustained window and roof damage from the winds and large hail. Two-by-fours were driven through a roof of a house, and many power lines were toppled. Some cars were damaged in Webster by hail three inches in diameter. The hail was described as the size of "billiard balls".
August 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Webster	$250,000	Twenty homes and four businesses received window and roof damage from strong thunderstorm winds and large hail. Two-by-fours were driven through the roof of a house. The hail was described as the size of "billiard balls". Some cars were damaged and many power lines were blown down.
September 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Danbury	$75,000	Photos and video were received of large trees downed on several properties and on the roadway on Ham Lake Road in Danbury. One house also had a tree fall into the side of the house. Two properties along this road also had docks on Ham Lake that were damaged and flipped.
September 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Grantsburg	$50,000	no account filed
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Hertel	$40,000	Numerous trees were reported down or snapped. The reporter estimates that 80 plus trees were down on their 90 acre property and neighbors had damage to their home due to trees falling on it.
August 2024	Flash Flood	Siren	$30,000	Burnett County dispatch reported two cars stalled in ponded water on the roadway.
July 1987	Tornado (F0)	not stated	$25,000	no account filed
May 1965	Tornado (F2)	not stated	$25,000	no account filed
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Siren Burnett Co Arp	$20,000	Only one wall was left intact on a camper-trailer. No one was inside at the time.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Webster	$10,000	Several branches were down and a small tree had been split in two. Some dock and pontoon boat damage was also reported on Devils Lake.
July 2023	Hail	Siren	$10,000	Damage to siding, window trim and to the roof of a home were reported due to the golf ball sized hail.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Danbury	$10,000	There was shingle damage to a roof on a two-story home along Highway 7. Numerous trees were blown down in the area.
June 2010	Tornado (EF1)	Grantsburg	$10,000	A tornado crossed the St. Croix River into southwest Burnett County Wisconsin from Pine County Minnesota, about 1.5 miles north of Highway 70, and dissipated about 3.5 miles west-northwest of Grantsburg, WI. The tornado moved into Wisconsin around 9 pm. EF1 damage was assigned due to damage to a home near Grantsburg WI, along with significant tree damage.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaslyn	$5,000	Photos were received from a spotter on the south end of Benoit Lake showing tree damage to their property. They reported 10 large trees down on their property with one landing on their garage causing minor damage. The spotter also estimated that there were hundreds of trees down in the area between Benoit and Rice lakes. Pea to dim sized hail also fell and was covering the ground in the photos as well.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Siren	$5,000	Trees were blown down county-wide.
August 2007	Lightning	Grantsburg	$4,000	Lightning struck a home, causing electrical damage. The lightning blew out the garage door opener, internet service, cable, telephone, router, two ethernet connections and tripped three circuits, according to the Burnett County Sentinel. The intense lightning storm also caused many small fires to break out in Burnett County, though most were under one acre in size and no property damage was reported.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Siren	$3,000	A large shed was blown over.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Grantsburg	$2,500	Trees were blown down. In addition, 1.19 inches of rain was measured in an hour's time.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Four Corners	$2,000	A power pole was snapped by the winds during the storm.
August 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Danbury	$1,000	Power lines were blown down.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Webb Lake	$500	A 10-inch diameter healthy oak tree was blown down.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Webster	$500	A large healthy oak tree was blown down. In addition, 1.4 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes.
August 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Siren	$500	A large tree was blown down onto a roadway.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Falun	$500	A 12-inch diameter pine tree was blown down by the winds.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Siren Burnett Co Arp	-	An eight inch diameter tree branch was down across a lane of Wisconsin Highway 70.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Coomer	-	Several trees were down onto a roadway.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Webster	-	Several trees were down on a road along with downed power lines.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaslyn	-	Several six inch diameter branches were broken off trees.
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpha	-	County dispatch reported the power company had 15 power poles down along Crosstown Road east-southeast of Grantsburg.
July 2025	Flash Flood	Siren	-	Curb to curb flooding was reported on Wisconsin State Highway 35.
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Siren Burnett Co Arp	-	County dispatch reported a downed tree.
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Siren Burnett Co Arp	-	County dispatch reported multiple trees down in the area.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Trade River	-	Tree branches up to 1.5 inches in diameter were broken along with power outages.
April 2023	Flood	Riverside	-	Warm temperatures early in April led to rapid snowmelt of a well above normal snowpack across the region. Additionally, heavy rainfall on top of the snowpack led to additional high runoff across the county as well. Roads began to be impacted on the 12th with water overtopping low spots leading to washouts, failed culverts and numerous closed roads. Temperatures cooled during the middle of the month along with a heavy rain/snow event the 16th into the 17th. This allowed the runoff to slow and water levels to drop. Clam Lake rose out of its bank and flooded around 60 homes and cabins around the lake for a time around the 16th and 17th. Multiple communities along with the county issued disaster declarations due to the extent of washed out roads with the worst of the flooding abating by the 25th. Damage estimates were not readily available from the county.
July 2023	Flash Flood	Siren	-	Up to a quarter of a mile of Highway 35 through Siren was covered with 6 to 10 inches of water.
July 2023	Hail	Burnett Co Arpt	-	The ground was completely covered with hail with the largest stones up to golf ball sized.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Danbury	-	Multiple oak, pine and popple trees with limbs of four to sixteen inches in diameter snapped from trees. The majority of the trees were in good health, but a few had been damaged by last winter's snow and were rotted in spots.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaslyn	-	Several maple, oak and pine trees were blown down in the storm.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaslyn	-	A tree was down onto County Road H north of Highway 70 near Hertel.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Hertel	-	A photo was received of an eight inch diameter tree that had been snapped. The observer noted that the tree already had a scar on it.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Siren	-	Five large trees were downed due to damaging winds. These trees were approximately a foot and a half in diameter. Some trees were uprooted while others were snapped in half.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Danbury	-	A few small trees were down along with a few larger trees that were blocking roads in the area.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Danbury	-	Four large trees were down across a road.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Hertel	-	Numerous small to medium-sized trees were down with some snapped at the base and others 20 feet up. Photos showed the trees to be down in a narrow swath about 1000 feet wide with trees laying in multiple directions.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Hertel	-	Two trees were completely uprooted with many others snapped in half. A cement block shed had also shifted some due to the wind.
June 2020	Flood	Burnett Co Arpt	-	Heavy rainfall led to minor street flooding in front of the Burnett County Court House.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	(Gtg)Grantsburg Muni	-	A small section of roof was torn off a hanger at the Grantsburg Airport.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaslyn	-	The tops of numerous trees were broken off the trunk several feet off the ground and landed on a home.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaslyn	-	Several large pine trees and branches were downed during the storm. Additionally, one side of a weighted dock was flipped over.
July 2019	Flash Flood	Gaslyn	-	Minor flooding was reported after 1.72 inches of rain fell in about an hour and 15 minutes.
July 2019	Flash Flood	Siren	-	A report and photos of flash flooding was received via social media. Cars were driving through 6 to 12 inches of water along Wisconsin Highway 35 at Djock Street.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Grantsburg	-	A 2-inch branch was broken from a tree in the winds.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Webster	-	A 5-inch diameter dead pine tree was knocked down.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Hertel	-	A few trees were knocked down along Birch Haven Road.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Danbury	-	A few trees were downed near the intersection of French Road and Glendenning Road.
July 2019	Hail	Branstad	-	Hail was covering the ground. Most of the stones were quarter-sized, but the largest were half dollar-sized.
June 2018	Flood	Webb Lake	-	The St. Croix River near Danbury set a record stage of 11.66 feet at 12:30PM on June 18th. This beat the old record of 8.72 feet set April 24th, 2001. Due to this flooding, Wisconsin Highway 35, which is where the gauge is located, was closed.

Mines and quarries

90 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 90 workings inside this county. 23 still produce and 67 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity	Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction	85
Copper	2
Clay	1
Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction	1
Stone, Crushed/Broken	1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Site	Commodity	Status
Karlsborg Quarry and Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Riverside Clay Pit	Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Viola Lake Clay Pit	Clay	Occurrence
Unnamed Prospect Near Round Lake	Copper	Occurrence
Unnamed Prospect Near Round Lake	Copper	Occurrence
Amundson Sand Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Amundson Sand Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Atkinson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Bashaw Brook Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Prospect
Bashaw Brook Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Beckmark Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Big Sand Lake Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Bly Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Bly Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Burnett County Hwy. Dept.	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
C J Moses Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Dewey Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Elbow Lake Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Florence Johnson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Fremsted Lake Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Fremsted Lake Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Glendenning Creek Sand Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Glendenning Creek Sand Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Hertel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Hopkins Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Hopkins Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Island Lake Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Island Lake Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Jacobson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Johnson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Johnson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Johnson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Karlsborg Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Karlsborg Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Karlsborg Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Karlsborg Pit #3	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Law Gables Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Lawrence Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Long Lake Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Lower Clam Lake Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Malon Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Maronk Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Mud Hen Lake Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Mud Hen Lake Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Prospect
Mud Hen Lake Pit #3	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Mud Hen Lake Pit #4	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
North Fork Clam River Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
North Rice Lake Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Oakland Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Peter Stafford Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Peterson Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Pine Lake Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Pjenowski Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Radke Sand and Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Raymond Peterson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Riverside Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Riverside Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Riverside Pit #3	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Riverside Pit #4	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Riverside Pit #5	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Riverside Pit #6	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Round Lake Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Round Lake Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Round Lake Pit #3	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Siren Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Sommerfeld Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
South Rice Lake Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Spirit Lake Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
St Croix River State Forest Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
St. Croix Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Staples Lake Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Staples Lake Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Staples Lake Pit #3	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Staples Lake Pit #4	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Stellright Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Stillrecht Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Trade River Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Union Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Walter Lundeen Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Webster Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Webster Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
William Armstrong Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
William Ott Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
William Soderbeck Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Wood River Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Woodtick Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Yellow Lake Pit #1	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Yellow Lake Pit #2	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Yellow Lake Pit #3	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Yellow River Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence

Every populated place in the county

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

Alpha

Wood River town · 54840 · Falun quadrangle

12 sheets, 1950 to 1985
Bashaw

Dewey town · 54871 · Poquettes Lake quadrangle

13 sheets, 1949 to 1985
Benson

Anderson town · 54840 · Randall quadrangle

16 sheets, 1950 to 1985
Branstad

Grantsburg town · 54840 · Trade River quadrangle

16 sheets, 1951 to 1985
Coomer

La Follette town · 54837 · On Kent Creek · Clam Falls quadrangle

13 sheets, 1951 to 1985
Danbury

Swiss town · 54830 · On Yellow River · Danbury East quadrangle

8 sheets, 1949 to 1983
Falun

Daniels town · Falun quadrangle

12 sheets, 1950 to 1985
Four Corners

Trade Lake town · 54840 · Trade Lake quadrangle

16 sheets, 1951 to 1985
Grantsburg

Grantsburg village · 54840 · Grantsburg quadrangle

12 sheets, 1950 to 1985
Hertel

La Follette town · 54845 · Hertel quadrangle

14 sheets, 1949 to 1985
Lind

Grantsburg town · 54840 · Randall quadrangle

16 sheets, 1950 to 1985
Oakland

Oakland town · 54893 · Webster quadrangle

14 sheets, 1950 to 1985
Pole Cat Crossing

54837 · Trade Lake quadrangle

16 sheets, 1951 to 1985
Randall

Anderson town · 54840 · Randall quadrangle

16 sheets, 1950 to 1985
Riverside

Blaine town · 54830 · On Hay Creek · Webb Lake quadrangle

8 sheets, 1949 to 1983
Siren

Siren town · 54872 · Siren West quadrangle

14 sheets, 1950 to 1985
Timberland

Roosevelt town · 54813 · Timberland quadrangle

13 sheets, 1951 to 1985
Trade Lake

Trade Lake town · 54837 · Trade Lake quadrangle

16 sheets, 1951 to 1985
Trade River

Anderson town · 54840 · On North Fork Trade River · Trade River quadrangle

16 sheets, 1951 to 1985
Webb Lake

Webb Lake town · 54830 · On Nelson Creek · Webb Lake quadrangle

8 sheets, 1949 to 1983
Webster

Meenon town · 54893 · Webster quadrangle

14 sheets, 1950 to 1985
Woodland Corner

Blaine town · 54830 · On Glendenning Creek · Dairyland quadrangle

8 sheets, 1949 to 1983
Yellow Lake

Oakland town · 54830 · Yellow Lake quadrangle

14 sheets, 1950 to 1985

Provenance

Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
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.