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Lusk, Wyoming

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the West Niobrara census division. It lies in ZIP code area 82225. It stands on Quinn Creek. The Survey maps it on the Lusk quadrangle. 1,541 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,020 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Lusk within Niobrara County

On record in Lusk

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Lusk fell from 1,567 to 1,541 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
20101,567
20201,541-26 (-2%)

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

8 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Lusk between 1992 and 2020, burning about 536 acres in total. 4 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
Natural4
Debris and open burning1
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Railroad operations and maintenance1
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
29 August 2020Natural1.0 acresNiobrara CountyJOHNSON FIRE
16 July 2003Natural420 acresNew Castle Field OfficeDOUGLAS
5 June 2020Natural100 acresNiobrara County43 FIRE
28 June 2020Natural14 acresWyoming State Forestry4-3 FIRE
24 June 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreNiobrara CountyBONE FIRE
1 June 2020Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreNiobrara CountyJORDAN FIRE
12 February 1992Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWyoming State Forestrynot named
18 January 2009Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreWyoming State Forestrynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Niobrara County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Lusk: 2 occurrences, 1 past producer, 1 unknown, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Uranium, Uranium, Silver, Radium, Gold, Copper, Copper. 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
Silver Cliff MineUranium, Silver, Radium, Gold, CopperPast Producer1879, 1880, 1953
UnknownCopperUnknown
N. Edge of Town CemeteryUraniumProspect
Unknown-No.1UraniumOccurrence
Unknown-No.2UraniumOccurrence

Every working recorded in Niobrara County

Storms near this place

60 of 70 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lusk in 70 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 58 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. 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
August 1996Thunderstorm WindLusk$10,000no account filed
August 1996HailLusk$10,000no account filed
August 1996HailLusk$5,000no account filed
May 1998HailLusk$4,000A storm produced quarter size hail in Lusk.
June 2025Tornado (EFU)Lusk-Numerous spotter reports of funnels and occasional touchdowns.
July 2023HailLusk-Emergency manager reported quarter size hail along US-18 north of Lusk between mile markers 153 and 155.
July 2023HailLusk-Hail reports ranged from pea to ping pong ball size.
July 2023HailLusk-Quarter sized hail. Visibility 50 yards in mostly hail.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindLusk-Emergency manager estimated winds of 70 to 80 mph across the town of Lusk. Cedar tree (80 feet tall) reported broken in half.
June 2023Flash FloodLusk-Niobrara County Emergency Manager reported 3 inches of rain in Manville that flowed east into the Niobrara River that runs into Lusk. Niobrara River in Lusk was out of its banks.
September 2023HailLusk-Local Emergency Management reported nickel to quarter sized hail along US Highway 85, 10 miles NNE of Lusk.
September 2023HailLusk-The public reported tennis ball sized hail 15 miles NE of Lusk.
September 2023HailLusk-The public reported racquetball sized hail 12 miles NE of Lusk.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindLusk-Received report of strong winds causing a parked camper to move.
July 2020HailLusk-Observer noted shredded leaves with property damage to home and car from falling hail. Damage included car dents, shingles loosened and broken house windows.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindLusk-Wind gusts estimated between 65 and 70 mph blew out a 16-foot section of a wooden wind break barrier.
June 2018HailLusk-Ping pong ball size hail was observed south of Lusk.
May 2018HailLusk-Quarter size hail covered the ground southwest of Lusk.
August 2017HailLusk-Quarter size hail was observed 12 miles southeast of Lusk.
July 2017HailLusk-Quarter to ping pong ball size hail was observed northeast of Lusk.
June 2016HailLusk-Quarter size hail was reported west of Lusk.
May 2016HailLusk-Half dollar size hail was reported six miles east of Lusk.
May 2016HailLusk-Quarter size hail was reported northeast of Lusk.
September 2016HailLusk-Quarter size hail was reported at Lusk.
June 2016HailLusk-Nickel to quarter size hail was reported west of Lance Creek.
July 2015HailLusk-Golf ball size hail was observed ten miles northwest of Lusk.
June 2015HailLusk-Quarter size hail was reported at Lusk.
July 2015HailLusk-Quarter size hail was reported at Lusk.
June 2015HailLusk-Quarter size hail was observed 17 miles northeast of Lusk.
September 2014Heavy RainLusk-An observer in Lusk measured 2.12 inches of rain.
July 2013HailLusk-Penny to quarter size hail was reported.
May 2013Funnel CloudLusk-A brief funnel cloud was reported six miles east of Lusk.
May 2013HailLusk-Penny to quarter size hail was observed 10 miles east of Lusk.
June 2013HailLusk-Quarter size hail was observed west of Lusk.
June 2013HailLusk-Quarter size hail was reported northwest of Lusk.
June 2013HailLusk-Nickel to ping pong ball size hail was reported north of Lusk.
June 2012HailLusk-Golf ball sized hail was reported in Lusk.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindLusk-A trained spotter estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 mph along with pea size hail.
May 2010HailLusk-Law enforcement estimated 1 inch hail fell in town.
June 2010HailLusk-Some hail as large as 2.25 inches on 28 mile road.
May 2009HailLusk-Hail reported from 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter.
June 1999Tornado (F0)Lusk-Tornado reported on U.S. Highway 85 at mile marker 174, just outside of Lusk, WY
May 1998Tornado (F0)Lusk-A brief tornado was reported by local area law enforcement, 50 miles north of Lusk.
July 2024HailLusk-no account filed
May 2023HailLusk-no account filed
July 2023HailLusk-no account filed
July 2023HailLusk-no account filed
June 2023HailLusk-no account filed
July 2020HailLusk-no account filed
July 2020HailLusk-no account filed
August 2019HailLusk-no account filed
July 2018HailLusk-no account filed
June 2010HailLusk-no account filed
July 2008HailLusk-no account filed
May 2007HailLusk-no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindLusk-no account filed
May 2006HailLusk-no account filed
July 2006HailLusk-no account filed
June 2005HailLusk-no account filed
June 2005HailLusk-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Niobrara 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
Manville8.9 miles7
Hat Creek (historical)13.0 miles7
Keeline16.1 miles7
Kirtley18.1 miles7
Whitman19.9 miles7
Van Tassell20.5 miles7
Lance Creek21.2 miles5
West Lance Creek23.3 miles5

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 LuskAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1002438The 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 1591129. 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.