Deadwood, South Dakota
The City of Deadwood, located in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota, has a thriving tourism industry with more than 2 million visitors each year. The steep, mountainous topography, historic structures, remote location and limited access, and significant tourist industry have made Deadwood at high risk to wildfire.
Deadwood became a CPAW community in 2018 and received focused assistance to better wildfire into its Comprehensive Plan. The CPAW team worked with stakeholders to understand the unique challenges of the Deadwood wildland-urban interface, including historic preservation goals. The CPAW team provided recommendations in May of 2018, which the City is integrating into its Comprehensive Plan. Recommendations included developing an organizational structure to enable fast, efficient, and effective wildfire response; developing evacuation plans; developing post-disaster recovery plans; and requiring wildfire-resistant construction and landscaping on new homes.
Snapshot
- 2018 CPAW Community
- Population (2015): 1,211
- Growth Rate (2010-2015): 27.6%
- Fuel Type: Ponderosa pine