BlockBefore

Abel, Alabama

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1900 and the latest in 2001. It stands in the Heflin census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36258. It stands on Nixon Branch. The Survey maps it on the Hollis Crossroads quadrangle.

Abel within Cleburne County

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 17 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

134 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 134 fires within 5 miles of Abel between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,773 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 52 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Arson/incendiarism52
Missing data/not specified/undetermined33
Debris and open burning23
Recreation and ceremony10
Natural9
Equipment and vehicle use7

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
30 September 2014Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionNER-20140930-001
23 September 1999Arson/incendiarismunder an acreNational Forests in AlabamaFIRE BALL
14 September 2017Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20170914-1
13 September 2019Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190913-13
4 August 2002Natural47 acresNational Forests in AlabamaSUNDAY
31 August 2016Arson/incendiarism10 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160831-5
27 August 2011Arson/incendiarism17 acresNational Forests in Alabama585
25 August 2002Naturalunder an acreNational Forests in AlabamaHORSE BLOCK

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cleburne County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 34 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 34 workings within 5 miles of Abel: 21 past producers, 6 occurrences, 3 unknowns, 2 prospects. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Iron, Mica, Quartz. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
C H Mitchell MineArsenic, LeadPast Producer
Chulafinnee Copper AnomolyCopperOccurrence1964
Chulafinnee Placer MinesGold, Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerPlacer
King MineGold, QuartzPast ProducerVein
Oxford QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Unnamed MineZinc, Arsenic, Copper, LeadPast Producer
Delta Mica Co. MineMicaPast Producer
Delta Mica Co. ProspectMicaOccurrence
Delta MineMicaPast Producer
J J Smith No. 2 ProspectMicaProspect

Every working recorded in Cleburne County

Storms near this place

7 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Abel in 7 storm reports between 2003 and 2025: 4 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
February 2011Thunderstorm WindAbel$1,000A tree was blown down along Cheaha Road.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindAbel-A couple trees were downed on Highway 281 near Highway 49.
August 2024HailAbel-Nickel-size hail was estimated from a social media picture near Choccolocco.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindAbel-Several trees uprooted along Highway 431.
May 2003HailAbel-Quarter size hail was observed on Mt. Cheaha.
March 2018HailAbel-no account filed
March 2018HailAbel-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cleburne County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Five Points3.0 miles17
Chulafinnee3.4 miles17
Hollis Crossroads4.3 miles17
Belltown6.8 miles17
Cleburne8.1 miles19
Heflin9.6 miles17
Micaville9.8 miles13
Gold Hill10.1 miles17

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 159044. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.