South Dakota Wildfire, Smoke, and Air Quality Map
South Dakota splits between two fire regimes: ponderosa timber fire in the Black Hills and wind-driven grass fire across the prairie that makes up most of the state. This page tracks the live layers most relevant to conditions across the state.
Current conditions snapshot
- Wildfires
- 3 active mapped fires attributed to South Dakota, about 3,660 acres total. Largest: XU Hill (2,500 acres, 100% contained)
- Red flag warnings
- No Red Flag Warnings in or near the South Dakota map area.
- Smoke
- Medium smoke over parts of the South Dakota map area in the latest NOAA analysis (2026-08-31).
- Fire weather
- No elevated SPC fire weather outlook over the South Dakota map area today.
- Drought
- Parts of the South Dakota map area are exceptional drought (D4) on this week's U.S. Drought Monitor.
- Air quality
- No AirNow forecast published for South Dakota reporting areas right now.
- River gauges
- No gauges reporting flood conditions in the South Dakota map area.
Data as of Sep 1, 11:40 AM MDT. Sources: NIFC, NWS, NOAA, EPA AirNow, U.S. Drought Monitor. Map areas are rectangular and overlap neighboring states; open the live map for exact locations.
Fire season and landscape
Black Hills timber fires typically peak in summer and early fall, while prairie grass fires can run in almost any snow-free month, with late winter and fall wind events among the most dangerous. Chinook winds can strip snow and expose cured grass in midwinter, which is why some notable Plains fires here carry cold-season dates.
The Black Hills National Forest anchors the west alongside Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park, with Badlands National Park and the Buffalo Gap and Fort Pierre National Grasslands covering the prairie beyond. The hazard profile pairs pine stands in the Hills with fast grass fire on the open range east of them.
- Grass fires on the western prairie can move faster than perimeter updates, so the 24-hour hotspot layer is the better real-time read outside the Black Hills.
- Red flag warnings in South Dakota are not confined to summer; cured grass plus chinook winds can produce them in December as easily as July.
- Drought status west of the Missouri River is the main control on how severe a summer season gets, and the drought layer shows it county by county.
Official South Dakota sources
Layer guides for South Dakota conditions
Informational only. Not an emergency alert service. Data comes from government sources that can lag, drop, or be wrong at any time. In an emergency call 911 and follow your local authorities. Field Risk Systems™ is not affiliated with any government agency. See the terms of use and privacy notice.
Nearby states
The Field Conditions map is published by Field Risk Systems LLC, the developer of Field Risk OS™, the operating system for outdoor programs. See Field Risk OS →