Champion, Alabama
20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Oneonta census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35121. The Survey maps it on the Oneonta quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 20 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.
- 1889 USGS Springville quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Springville quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1953 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Oneonta quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1975 USGS Oneonta quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Birmingham North quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
106 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 106 fires within 5 miles of Champion between 1994 and 2020, burning about 1,432 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 11 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 | 44 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 19 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 13 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 11 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 10 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 21 September 2016 | Smoking | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160921-4 |
| 2 September 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 15 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 13 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160913-2 |
| 7 August 2006 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 August 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 47 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 47 workings within 5 miles of Champion: 15 occurrences, 14 prospects, 10 past producers, 5 unknowns. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Manganese, Flagstone, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion Mines | Iron, Manganese, Phosphorus-Phosphates | Past Producer | 1885, 1945 | |
| Graystone Plant | Calcium | Producer | ||
| Blo 3 Clay Prospect | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Blo 4 Clay Prospect | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Brown Quarry | Flagstone | Past Producer | ||
| Lamb Quarry | Flagstone | Producer | ||
| Oneoneta Quarry | Flagstone | Producer | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Manganese, Iron | Prospect | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Manganese | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Prospect | Manganese | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
8 since 2010Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Champion in 8 storm reports between 2010 and 2024: 6 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 hail. 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 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Champion | $4,000 | Trees were blown down at several locations in Blount County, west of Oneonta, including Putman Road, CR-20, and Robin Hill Road. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Champion | $3,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down in the Holly Springs and Highland Lakes communities. |
| March 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Champion | - | In Oneonta, power lines were reported down along 2nd Ave and County Highway 42. To the southeast, in the Highland Lakes area, trees were uprooted along Lakeside Dr. and several pine trees were snapped along Sycamore Dr and County Highway 20, with Sycamore Dr being blocked. In the Straight Mountain community, just to the southeast of Highland Lakes, downed tree limbs resulted in roof damage to a home. |
| April 2021 | Hail | Champion | - | Half dollar size hail reported south of the Highland Lake Community. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Champion | - | Numerous trees uprooted near the St. Clair county line. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Champion | - | Numerous trees uprooted near the St. Clair county line. |
| March 2018 | Tornado (EF0) | Champion | - | National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in extreme southeast Blount County and determined that the damage was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph. The tornado began just west of Jones Chapel Loop Road with minor tree damage. The tornado then moved east and crossed Daylily Road where dozens of trees were uprooted. The tornado then crossed County Road 24 and into St. Clair County. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Champion | - | Trees were reported down in the Highland Lakes Area. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastwood | 0.7 miles | 20 | |
| Oneonta | 1.7 miles | 20 | |
| Mattawana | 2.5 miles | 20 | |
| Taits Gap | 3.2 miles | 20 | |
| Graystone | 3.4 miles | 21 | |
| Chepultepec | 3.4 miles | 20 | |
| Highland Lake | 3.7 miles | 20 | |
| Allgood | 3.8 miles | 21 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 156166. 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.







