BlockBefore

Bluff, Alabama

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Winfield-Glen Allen census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35555. The Survey maps it on the Bluff quadrangle. It stands 492 feet above sea level.

Bluff within Fayette County

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 11 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

64 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 64 fires within 5 miles of Bluff between 1994 and 2019, burning about 1,200 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 29 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/incendiarism29
Debris and open burning13
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Recreation and ceremony4
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Natural1
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
9 September 1995Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2006Arson/incendiarism18 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2000Arson/incendiarism20 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2000Smokingunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
29 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
1 September 1999Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
30 August 2000Arson/incendiarism40 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
3 August 1999Arson/incendiarism9.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Fayette County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Bluff: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Fayette PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Fayette County

Storms near this place

20 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bluff in 20 storm reports between 2000 and 2026: 13 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 3 tornado. 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
March 2007Tornado (EF1)Bluff$50,000The tornado touched down near the intersection of State Highway 107 and Paul Colburn Road, near the Bluff community. It then tracked northeastward and crossed US Highway 43, before lifting just northeast of AL 129 and CR 24. Several homes and storage buildings were damaged along the path. Numerous trees were blown down or snapped off.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindBluff$20,000Trees and power lines were blown down across numerous locations in Fayette County. A tree fell onto a house southeast of Glen Allen. Fallen trees and power lines blocked a portion of AL-102, near the intersection of of CR-53.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBluff$5,000Trees were knocked down along County Road 47.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindBluff$3,000Trees were blown down in and around the Bluff community.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBluff$2,000Several trees were blown down and blocked the road, near Musgrove Chapel.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBluff$1,500A few small trees and one large tree knocked down along Highways 107 and 43.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindBluff$1,000Trees and power lines were blown down on Raspberry Lane, northwest of the city of Fayette.
March 2000HailBluff$1,000A storm that moved across Lamar County continued into northern Fayette County. Dime to quarter size hail fell generally north of the city of Fayette.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindBluff$500Multiple trees were downed along County Road 47 at Bethabara Road.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindBluff-A tree was downed at Highway 107 and Wayside Road.
June 2025HailBluff-Social media photo of quarter-size hail.
June 2024Tornado (EF0)Bluff-An EF1 tornado developed on the northern flank of an MCS, affecting far northern portions of Fayette County and southern portions of Marion County. The tornado initially touched down near Coffee Creek then moved northeast where it crossed Coffee Creek Road and uprooted a few large soft and hardwood trees in the front yard of a residence. The damage was sporadic as the tornado moved through Fayette County producing mostly timber damage as it crossed into Marion County. One home on Atkinson Road sustained minor damage to the vinyl siding. Damage in Fayette County was rated EF0. The total path length of the tornado was 7.23 miles.
December 2024Thunderstorm WindBluff-Multiple trees were downed in northwest Fayette County, including Highway 107 at Turner Road.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindBluff-Several trees were uprooted along Highway 107 northwest of Fayette, and a tree and power lines were down on County Road 21 South just west of Fayette.
April 2019Thunderstorm WindBluff-Several trees uprooted.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindBluff-Several trees uprooted along County Road 10 near the Mount Willing Church.
March 2016Tornado (EF1)Bluff-National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in northwest Fayette County near Bluff and determined that the damage was consistent with an EF-1 tornado. Maximum winds were estimated to be around 105 mph. ||The tornado touched down near the intersection of County Road 51 and Turner Road. The tornado traveled northward along County Road 51 for about one mile uprooting and snapping trees, and then it damaged several wood frame barns and outbuildings. The tornado appeared to weaken and only produced minor tree damage as it crossed Turkey Creek and Kirkland Road. It continued north-northeast producing mainly tree damage before dissipating along County Road 21, about one-half mile south of County Road 42.
March 2007HailBluff-Reported just west of the Wayside Community.
August 2002HailBluff-Dime size hail was observed in Wayside.
March 2000Thunderstorm WindBluff-Numerous trees were blown down across the northern part of the county.

Every storm recorded in Fayette 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
Kirkland1.4 miles11
Wayside4.0 miles9
Stewart4.8 miles9
Bobo5.9 miles11
Mount Vernon6.0 miles9
Renfroe Valley8.6 miles9
Hubbertville8.8 miles10
Covin9.1 miles9

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 BluffAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q22058399The 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 114604. 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.