BlockAlta, Alabama
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Berry census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35546. It stands on Pine Branch. The Survey maps it on the Berry quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 12 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1953 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Berry quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1984 USGS Jasper quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
207 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 207 fires within 5 miles of Alta between 1994 and 2020, burning about 2,720 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 109 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/incendiarism | 109 |
| Debris and open burning | 64 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 24 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 September 2004 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 22 September 1999 | Smoking | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 September 1997 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Alta: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berry Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Berry Rock & Materials, Inc. Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
9 since 2010Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alta in 9 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 4 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. The reports record 4 deaths. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2011 | Tornado (EF3) | Alta | 4 killed, $6,600,000 | The fifth segment of this long track tornado entered Fayette County for the second time at CR 83, south of Boley Springs, and moved northeast where it exited Fayette County south of Blue Water Trace Rd . This tornado began in Pickens County, 5 miles northeast of Pickensville, and tracked through Tuscaloosa, Fayette, Walker, Cullman (See Storm Data for Huntsville), and Blount Counties, before it dissipated in Marshall (See Storm Data for Huntsville) County. While the average path width of this tornado in this portion of Fayette County was around 0.5 mile (880 yds), the tornado maximum path width was 0.75 mile (1320 yds) as it entered the county. The tornado strengthened to an EF3 rating, with winds of 140 mph, as it crossed CR 83 in Fayette County, where a mobile home was completely destroyed, with the remaining debris thrown a considerable distance, which resulted in 2 fatalities. The tornado continued northeast, where it crossed Wilcutt Road and CR 46, where several additional mobile homes were completely destroyed and the debris thrown a considerable distance. This resulted in two additional fatalities. Along this path, two homes sustained complete roof loss or partial roof loss, respectively. In addition, several cars were thrown and destroyed, and a building sustained extensive damage to the exterior brick veneer. The tornado caused considerable damage to trees, completely debarked trees with only stubs of largest branches as it continued northeast toward the Walker County line. |
| April 2010 | Tornado (EF1) | Alta | $20,000 | The tornado touched down in southeastern Fayette County about 4 miles northeast of Berry. It then tracked northeastward through mostly a wooded rural area, before crossing into Walker County. In Fayette County, damage was mainly confined to about 2 dozen trees that were snapped and uprooted. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Alta | - | Quarter-size hail was reported in Boley Springs. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | Trees and power lines were downed in the Pea Ridge area north of Berry. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Alta | - | Photos from social media of hail up to two inches in the Pea Ridge Community. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | Multiple trees down near the Salem community. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | Several trees uprooted on Pea Ridge Road and Armory Avenue in Berry. |
| February 2022 | Tornado (EF1) | Alta | - | National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southeast Fayette County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 110 mph. This tornado crossed into Fayette County from Tuscaloosa County just west of Union Grove Road. The tornado tracked northeast across Highway 83 where several trees were uprooted. The storm produced the most tree damage as it approached County Road 46, where numerous trees were uprooted and snapped. There was also minor damage to a manufactured home and an overturned outdoor shed. The tornado lifted just after crossing County Road 46. |
| March 2016 | Tornado (EF0) | Alta | - | National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southeast Fayette County near Boley Springs and determined that the damage was consistent with an EF-0 tornado. Maximum winds were estimated to be around 70 mph. The short-lived tornado touched down near County Road 46 at the town of Boley Springs. The weak tornado tracked northeast and uprooted numerous trees along its path as it Crossed County Road 83. The roads were blocked by fallen trees at this point and the track could not be followed any farther. |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | 1.8 miles | 17 | |
| Boley Springs | 2.2 miles | 12 | |
| Berry | 3.7 miles | 12 | |
| Pea Ridge | 4.8 miles | 12 | |
| Cleveland | 6.4 miles | 10 | |
| Bankston | 7.4 miles | 10 | |
| Studdards Crossroads | 9.9 miles | 11 | |
| Fowlers Crossroads | 11.4 miles | 10 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 155993. 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.