Feb. 3, 2026:
U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) wrote to President Trump Tuesday (Feb. 3, 2026) to express their strong support for South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden’s request for a major disaster declaration that would cover the counties of Custer, Fall River, and Pennington. If approved, the federal disaster assistance would help communities recover from the severe windstorm on December 17-18, 2025, that destroyed trees, electrical infrastructure, and homes, and resulted in fires and widespread power outages across western South Dakota.
“The state, county, and local governments stepped up to address this disaster with all available resources and authorities,” the delegation wrote. “First responders worked overnight to keep fires from spreading and cleared roadways of downed power lines and trees. However, though the governor activated the state emergency operations plan, the severity and magnitude of the storm is beyond the capabilities of the state. Therefore, granting a major disaster declaration would allow the state to continue removing debris, repairing roadways, and rebuilding critical electrical infrastructure, as well as continue disaster mitigation activities.”
Full letter below:
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Trump,
We write in strong support of the state of South Dakota’s major disaster declaration request submitted by Governor Larry Rhoden on January 27, 2026. This disaster declaration request would assist in recovery efforts from a severe storm that occurred December 17 through December 18, 2025.
During the third week of December, a historic windstorm swept across western South Dakota destroying trees, electrical infrastructure, and homes and left a significant amount of debris on roadways and public rights-of-way. Wind gusts in excess of 90 miles per hour were recorded, downing electrical lines and triggering fires. South Dakota’s preliminary damage assessment, conducted in collaboration with FEMA, identified $4.6 million in total damage across Custer, Fall River, and Pennington counties.
As a result of the storm, approximately 53,174 households experienced power outages, and Black Hills Electric Cooperative, the sole power provider of the region, lost 96 percent of its power, the largest outage in its history. The restoration of power was difficult, particularly in the rural and off-road areas, and, in some cases, took seven days to restore.
The state, county, and local governments stepped up to address this disaster with all available resources and authorities. First responders worked overnight to keep fires from spreading and cleared roadways of downed power lines and trees. However, though the governor activated the state emergency operations plan, the severity and magnitude of the storm is beyond the capabilities of the state. Therefore, granting a major disaster declaration would allow the state to continue removing debris, repairing roadways, and rebuilding critical electrical infrastructure, as well as continue disaster mitigation activities.
We support the state’s disaster declaration request and urge you to approve a major disaster declaration as soon as possible so the necessary federal resources are available to assist the relevant areas of South Dakota. Thank you for your prompt attention to this request, and please do not hesitate to contact us if we can provide any additional information.
Jan. 27, 2026:
South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden has formally requested (Jan. 27, 2026) a presidential major disaster declaration for South Dakota in response to a historic, record-breaking winter windstorm that caused widespread damage across Custer, Fall River, and Pennington counties on December 17 and 18, 2025.
“Our communities faced extraordinary conditions during this storm with severe impacts, especially in rural and frontier areas,” said Rhoden. “This support will help local communities, reduce the financial burden on electric ratepayers, and ensure essential services can be restored and strengthened for the future.”
The storm produced sustained high winds and extreme gusts exceeding 90 mph in parts of western South Dakota, downing trees and power lines, damaging public infrastructure, and leaving thousands of residents without power for days. The Black Hills region was particularly impacted. Difficult terrain and extensive forest damage significantly delayed power restoration efforts and access for emergency responders.
Rhoden previously signed an emergency declaration on January 7, 2026, which started the disaster process by requesting technical assistance for a preliminary damage assessment by FEMA. Those preliminary damage assessments conducted from January 20 to 22 confirmed more than $4.6 million in public infrastructure damage across the three counties, exceeding federal thresholds for disaster assistance. Damage included roads, power systems, parks, recreation areas, trails, and public facilities, with Custer County experiencing particularly devastating per-capita impacts.
If approved, the Presidential declaration would provide Public Assistance funding for Custer, Fall River, and Pennington counties for repairs at a cost share of 75% federal, 10% state, and 15% local. In addition, it would make Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding available in the future.
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