BlockBethel, Alabama
22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Athens census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35773. It stands on Hauskin Branch. The Survey maps it on the Ardmore quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 22 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.
- 1888 USGS Huntsville quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Huntsville quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1936 USGS Ardmore quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Ardmore quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Huntsville quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
72 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 72 fires within 5 miles of Bethel between 1994 and 2020, burning about 696 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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 burning | 30 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 14 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Smoking | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
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 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 28 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Tennessee Division of Forestry | not named |
| 2 September 1999 | Smoking | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 15 September 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | NOR-20150915-001 |
| 14 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160914-5 |
| 14 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 August 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 13 August 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
12 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bethel in 12 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 6 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 flood, 1 funnel cloud. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | $2,000 | A large tree was knocked down blocking both lanes of traffic at this location. Time was estimated by radar. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | $1,000 | A metal roof was blown off an outdoor shed near Elkmont. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | - | A wind gust of 60 mph was estimated at this locations. Time was based on radar data. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | - | A tree was knocked down onto power lines along highway 251 at Thach Road. Time was estimated from radar data. |
| February 2019 | Flood | Bethel | - | Water of an unknown depth was across Lambert Road at Bethel Road. |
| November 2019 | Flood | Bethel | - | Report of a car stranded in floodwaters at Bethel Road and Oak Grove Road. Depth of water unknown. |
| April 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | - | A tree and a few power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds on Wooley Springs road in Limestone county, Alabama. |
| March 2012 | Hail | Bethel | - | Half dollar sized hail was reported 5 miles south of Ardmore. |
| March 2012 | Tornado (EF1) | Bethel | - | A tornado was up to EF-1 intensity and peak wind speeds of 100 mph began a path in the Thach community, just west of the intersection of Thach Road and Oak Grove Road. The tornado moved nearly due east paralleling Thach Road for much of it's life cycle. The tornado appeared to skip along it's path, leaving some structures and trees intact but damaging others. The tornado finally lifted east of Highway 251. Numerous softwood and hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted along the tornado path. Several homes along the path had minor structural damage with lost of shingles, siding damage, and damage to one garage. One home had more significant damage to a section of it's roof. A well-constructed barn lost most of it's roof. |
| May 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Bethel | - | A tornado with peak winds of 85 mph redeveloped and snapped and uprooted several trees along a southwest to northeast path beginning along Thach Road, crossing state highway 251, then reaching the Limestone-Madison County line along Ready Section Road. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree. |
| March 1996 | Funnel Cloud | Bethel | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caro (historical) | 0.6 miles | 22 | |
| Sand Spring (historical) | 1.6 miles | 22 | |
| Pine Dale | 2.1 miles | 22 | |
| Oak Grove | 2.2 miles | 22 | |
| Wooley Springs (historical) | 2.6 miles | 22 | |
| Pisgah | 3.0 miles | 22 | |
| Cedar Hill | 3.0 miles | 22 | |
| Thach | 4.0 miles | 20 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 114007. 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.