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Basham, Alabama

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1936 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Decatur census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35640. It lies near Chestnut Grove Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Trinity quadrangle. It stands 745 feet above sea level.

Basham within Morgan County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 15 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

56 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 56 fires within 5 miles of Basham between 1994 and 2020, burning about 481 acres in total. None started naturally. 8 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
Debris and open burning21
Missing data/not specified/undetermined11
Equipment and vehicle use9
Arson/incendiarism8
Recreation and ceremony5
Misuse of fire by a minor2

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
5 September 1995Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
19 September 2000Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
8 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commission20170808-1
28 August 2018Arson/incendiarism4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20180828-3
26 August 1998Equipment and vehicle use40 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
17 August 2000Equipment and vehicle use40 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
14 August 2000Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
5 July 2012Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionNOR-20120705-002

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Morgan County

Storms near this place

20 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Basham in 20 storm reports between 2005 and 2025: 15 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 lightning, 1 flood. 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
June 2006LightningBasham$200,000Lightning sparked a fire destroying a double-wide hilltop home on Mud Tavern Road. A pet dog perished in the fire. Time estimated by radar. Damage amount estimated.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBasham$10,000A tree was blown down on a house.
December 2024Thunderstorm WindBasham$5,000Trees were knocked down at this location.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindBasham$2,000Trees and limbs were knocked down.
April 2009Thunderstorm WindBasham$2,000A tree was blown down on Mud Tavern Road.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindBasham$2,000A tree was blown down near Mud Tavern on Kirby Bridge road.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindBasham$1,000A tree was knocked down at George Russell Road.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBasham$1,000A tree was reported down across the roadway at this location.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindBasham$1,000Several trees that were 6 to 12 inches in diameter were knocked down or have limbs broken off.
March 2023Thunderstorm WindBasham$1,000Multiple trees were knocked down between Decatur and Basham.
March 2023Thunderstorm WindBasham$1,000Trees were knocked down on Herring Road.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBasham$1,000A tree was blown down on Asphalt Rock Road.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindBasham$1,000Winds damaged a portion of the roof of a home on Mud Tavern Road in Decatur.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindBasham$500Power lines were knocked down on Chapel Hill Road. Time estimated by radar.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindBasham$200A tree was knocked down near Old Moulton Road and Pleasant Hill Road. Time estimated by radar.
April 2025HailBasham-One and one quarter of an inch diameter hail was reported by an observer from the MPING network.
April 2025HailBasham-Three quarter inch hail was reported by an observer from the MPING network at this location.
February 2019FloodBasham-Mud Tavern Road flooding over the road West of Chapel Hill Road. Water depth unknown.
March 2012HailBasham-Quarter sized hail was reported.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindBasham-Trees and some powerlines were downed by a large downburst, which produced a 3/4 mile damage swath.

Every storm recorded in Morgan 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
Longleaf Estates2.4 miles25
Flint City2.6 miles25
Oak Ridge2.8 miles19
Russell Village3.6 miles25
Cedar Lake3.6 miles25
Bayside3.9 miles25
Neel4.1 miles17
Austinville4.2 miles15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BashamAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4866768The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 156031. 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.

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.