Van Meter Fire

Jones County, South Dakota · Wildfire

Active Official numbers updated Sep 9, 2026 (about 10 hours ago)
First reported yesterday
Metric Now
Size
1,091 acres
Sep 9, 5:00 AM
+791 acres
was 300 acres · Sep 8, 7:00 PM
Containment —
Crew size —
Money spent —

Van Meter Fire and other nearby fires

🔥 Where this fire started Mostly contained Partly contained Containment not reported

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Van Meter Fire summary

The Van Meter Fire is a wildfire near Jones County, South Dakota. It has burned about 1,091 acres (about 827 football fields). It's a brand-new fire, first reported yesterday. We're also tracking 1 other active fire within about 75 miles.

Size
1,091 acres
Containment
Not yet reported
Discovered
September 8, 2026 (first reported yesterday)
Cause
Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Wednesday, September 9th at 5:00 a.m. CDT.

Weather & fire-spread conditions

No Red Flag Warning. The National Weather Service hasn't flagged this area for dangerous fire-spread conditions right now.

Hot, dry, and windy weather can help a fire grow; cool, calm, or wet weather helps crews. The tags below rate each day for fire spread — green is calm, red can push a fire.

A general fire-weather guide (wind matters most, then how dry it is, then heat), not a prediction of what this fire will do.

Overnight

55°F · Partly Cloudy

Wind 17 mph N · 1% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry

Wednesday

81°F · Sunny

Wind 12 to 17 mph NW · 2% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Warm Dry

Wednesday Night

53°F · Mostly Clear

Wind 6 to 12 mph S · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry

Thursday

92°F · Sunny

Wind 10 to 15 mph SSW · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Hot Dry

Thursday Night

60°F · Mostly Clear

Wind 7 to 18 mph S · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Wednesday, September 9th at 5:02 a.m. CDT.

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Who's on it

This fire is small enough that no crew size or team has been posted yet. That's normal for a fire this size — those numbers show up once a fire is big enough to need a formal report.

Where to get live updates

We show the daily official picture. For minute-by-minute updates, evacuation orders, and maps, these do it best:

Nearby fires to Van Meter Fire

Within about 75 miles we're tracking 1 other active fire, closest first:

See all active fires in South Dakota →

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