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Bethel, Alabama

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Logan census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35057. The Survey maps it on the West Point quadrangle.

Bethel within Cullman 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

117 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 117 fires within 5 miles of Bethel between 1997 and 2020, burning about 1,194 acres in total. None started naturally. 53 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/incendiarism53
Debris and open burning35
Missing data/not specified/undetermined22
Equipment and vehicle use3
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Recreation and ceremony1
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Smoking1

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
7 September 1998Arson/incendiarism10 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2010Arson/incendiarism33 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1998Debris and open burning5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
3 September 2008Arson/incendiarism17 acresAlabama Forestry Commission1925 COUNTY ROAD 998, AL
29 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionNER-20140929-002
29 September 2004Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 2019Debris and open burning10 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190924-6
23 September 2005Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cullman County

Storms near this place

13 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bethel in 13 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 5 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood. The reports record 1 death. 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
July 2015Thunderstorm WindBethel1 killedA tree was uprooted, falling onto a male, along County Road 1135.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindBethel$50,000Damage was reported damage to a livestock farm structure and pole barn at 921 CR 813. A tree was knocked down onto a home and other trees uprooted. Time estimated by radar.
October 2009Thunderstorm WindBethel$6,000A utility pole and power lines were knocked down on Highway 278.
June 1999HailBethel$2,000Quarter size hail was reported at Bethel west of Cullman. Dime size hail was also reported in the northwest corner of the county.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindBethel$1,000A tree was knocked down at 1985 CR 831. Time estimated by radar.
December 2008Thunderstorm WindBethel$1,000Thunderstorm winds snapped a treetop off near a house east southeast of Bethel.
April 2025HailBethel-Golfball size hail was reported at this location off of CR 1043.
June 2025Flash FloodBethel-Flash flooding was occurring based on a photo at 255 CR 825. Depth of water estimated at 6 to 8 inches and rising.
June 2025Flash FloodBethel-Flash flooding was occurring at the Rock Creek bridge along CR 1133. Time estimated by radar. Depth of water unknown.
March 2021Flash FloodBethel-Highway 278 at CR866 closed due to water over the road. Depth of water unknown at this time.
April 2020HailBethel-Nickel sized hail was reported.
March 2012HailBethel-Nickel sized hail was reported.
May 2008HailBethel-Golf ball sized hail was reported between Cullman and Jones Chapel near the Central community.

Every storm recorded in Cullman 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
Spring Hill1.4 miles17
Central2.5 miles11
West Point3.3 miles17
Dripping Springs3.5 miles11
Baldwin3.5 miles17
Jones Chapel3.8 miles11
Logan4.1 miles11
Chances Crossroad4.3 miles11

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 114006. 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.