diff --git a/src/engine/surface_load.c b/src/engine/surface_load.c
index 9da3b661..b1201c14 100644
--- a/src/engine/surface_load.c
+++ b/src/engine/surface_load.c
@@ -23,6 +23,14 @@
  */
 SpatialPartitionCell gStaticSurfacePartition[NUM_CELLS][NUM_CELLS];
 SpatialPartitionCell gDynamicSurfacePartition[NUM_CELLS][NUM_CELLS];
+struct CellCoords {
+    u8 z;
+    u8 x;
+    u8 partition;
+};
+struct CellCoords sCellsUsed[NUM_CELLS];
+u16 sNumCellsUsed;
+u8 sClearAllCells;
 
 /**
  * Pools of data that can contain either surface nodes or surfaces.
@@ -134,6 +142,16 @@ static void add_surface_to_cell(s32 dynamic, s32 cellX, s32 cellZ, struct Surfac
 
     if (dynamic) {
         list = &gDynamicSurfacePartition[cellZ][cellX][listIndex];
+        if (sNumCellsUsed >= sizeof(sCellsUsed) / sizeof(struct CellCoords)) {
+            sClearAllCells = TRUE;
+        } else {
+            if (list->next == NULL) {
+                sCellsUsed[sNumCellsUsed].z = cellZ;
+                sCellsUsed[sNumCellsUsed].x = cellX;
+                sCellsUsed[sNumCellsUsed].partition = listIndex;
+                sNumCellsUsed++;
+            }
+        }
     } else {
         list = &gStaticSurfacePartition[cellZ][cellX][listIndex];
     }
@@ -478,6 +496,9 @@ void load_area_terrain(s32 index, TerrainData *data, RoomData *surfaceRooms, s16
     gEnvironmentRegions = NULL;
     gSurfaceNodesAllocated = 0;
     gSurfacesAllocated = 0;
+    bzero(&sCellsUsed, sizeof(sCellsUsed));
+    sNumCellsUsed = 0;
+    sClearAllCells = TRUE;
 
     clear_static_surfaces();
 
@@ -536,10 +557,16 @@ void clear_dynamic_surfaces(void) {
     if (!(gTimeStopState & TIME_STOP_ACTIVE)) {
         gSurfacesAllocated = gNumStaticSurfaces;
         gSurfaceNodesAllocated = gNumStaticSurfaceNodes;
-
         gDynamicSurfacePoolEnd = gDynamicSurfacePool;
-
-        clear_spatial_partition(&gDynamicSurfacePartition[0][0]);
+        if (sClearAllCells) {
+            clear_spatial_partition(&gDynamicSurfacePartition[0][0]);
+        } else {
+            for (u32 i = 0; i < sNumCellsUsed; i++) {
+                gDynamicSurfacePartition[sCellsUsed[i].z][sCellsUsed[i].x][sCellsUsed[i].partition].next = NULL;
+            }
+        }
+        sNumCellsUsed = 0;
+        sClearAllCells = FALSE;
     }
 }