Custer County Emergency Operations Center

06/08/2026

As storm season is upon us, we wanted get let everyone know of the storm shelters in Custer County. Custer County Courthouse basement, City Hall basement, and Crazy Horse are all designated shelters, but only during business hours. The libraries and churches are not shelters. Luckily, tornados don't happen very often here with hail being a much bigger threat. The National Weather Service is a great website to learn more about storm preparation. Hope this helps ⛈️

05/14/2026

05/14/2026

Please stay out of the area. There is a heavy fire fighters presence and they need room to move. AND do not fly drones! There are aircrafts working on the fire and drones in the air means actually help can't be! NO evacuations at this time!

There is an active wildland fire in the East Gate/Wildlife loop area of Custer State Park. Please avoid the area so fire crews can operate safely.

Also please keep your drones out of the area. There are air assets working on the fire. If you fly, we can't.

05/11/2026

The combination of very warm temperatures, low relative humidity, and breezy winds will produce critical fire weather conditions across much of western South Dakota Monday afternoon and early evening.

04/25/2026

SD Wildland Fire pile burning permits for the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District expired in March and will not be reissued. Fire danger levels are extremely high in South Dakota and with recent Red Flag Warnings, conditions are primed for fast-moving wildfires. It only takes one spark.
Do your part this summer:
• Stop all open burning,
• Avoid activities that create sparks (dragging chains, use of welding equipment outdoors, parking hot vehicles in tall dry grass), and
• Check weather and restrictions before working outdoors.
Let’s work together to keep South Dakota safe.

04/23/2026

The Murphy Fire is in Pennington County with acreage estimates of 350 acres. There are dozer lines surrounding the perimeter of the fire, but the winds aren't helping.

04/22/2026

We are in a critical fire weather situation. State Wildland Fire explains what we have going on for the next 24 to 48 hours.

20260422 Fire Weather Situation Report

04/19/2026

Here we go again. The burn ban is still in place and that includes burning trash.

Red Flag warning for most of Custer County starting at 11:00am Monday April 20th. The critical fire weather will stay for the next three days. Please use extreme caution!

https://inws.ncep.noaa.gov/a/a.php?i=126710079

04/18/2026

The Beaver Valley Fire by Buffalo Gap is contained and out.

04/17/2026

Firefighters responded to the Sawmill fire located 1 mile west of Jewel Cave National Monument. Aircraft including two Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs) and one Type 1 helicopter have responded along with local, state, and federal units. The size is estimated at 3-5 acres. Smoke has impacted Highway 16 and law enforcement is currently escorting traffic for safety measures. Forward progress has been stopped. This fire is under investigation.