Van Meter Fire, Murdo, South Dakota

True view Fire view

⟷

True view (left): as the eye sees it.
Fire view (right): infrared (SWIR), sees through smoke and brings out the heat.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 brown = already burned
🟠 orange = fire right now

Drag to compare: normal photo on the left, heat brought out on the right.

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

Key facts

Source: NIFC

Location16 miles north of Murdo, SD

CauseNatural

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingMinimalFlanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.Backing — Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

ComplexityType 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionPrivate land

Cost so far$40,000

Glossary: what each term means

Minimal

Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.

Smoldering

Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

Creeping

Moves slowly, hugging the ground.

Moderate

Spreads with low, steady flames.

Active

Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.

Extreme

Fast and unpredictable.

Running

Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.

Flanking

Grows along the sides, not head-on.

Backing

Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

Crowning

Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.

Short Crown Runs

Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.

Torching

Whole trees flaring up like torches.

Isolated Torching

Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

Group Torching

Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.

Spotting

Wind carries embers through the air and starts new fires ahead of the front: that is how a fire jumps a road or a firebreak.

Wind Driven Runs

The wind pushes it in long runs in one direction.

The ones marked ● are the behaviors that make a fire harder to stop. They are not a warning or an instruction: they are the description written by the agency in charge. For decisions, always follow your emergency services.

The story so far

Summary written on Sep 9, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning across 1,091 acres of private land in Jones County, South Dakota, the naturally caused Van Meter Fire has reached 100 percent containment after burning through tall grass averaging 2.5 feet in height. Located 16 miles north of Murdo, the incident was managed by a Type 4 Incident Command structure utilizing 74 personnel, bringing the total cost of operations to $40,000.

Satellites have detected eight heat signatures over the past 48 hours near the perimeter, while ground crews observed minimal, flanking, and backing fire behavior before achieving full containment. This event unfolds within a regional fire season that typically runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader context shows 3,195,047 hectares burned so far in 2026, tracking 42 percent below the two-decade average.