Chapel Hill, Alabama
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1981. It lies in ZIP code area 36862. The Survey maps it on the Lafayette quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 13 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.
- 1907 USGS Opelika quadrangle1:125000
- 1909 USGS Opelika quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Lafayette quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1981 USGS Opelika quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
116 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 116 fires within 5 miles of Chapel Hill between 1994 and 2020, burning about 706 acres in total. None started naturally. 15 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 | 61 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 15 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.1 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | WEST SIDE OF COOSA RIVER, AL |
| 29 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 15 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190929-7 |
| 23 September 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 18 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | 2.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 12 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | ECR-20120912-002 |
| 11 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Chapel Hill: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milltown Pluton | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | Plagioclase, Quartz |
Storms near this place
2 since 2018Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chapel Hill in 2 storm reports between 2018 and 2023: 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2023 | Tornado (EF2) | Chapel Hill | - | National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Chambers County and determined that it was consistent with an EF2 tornado, with maximum winds near 130 mph. The tornado touched down on County Road 114, about six-tenths of a mile west of Highway 431. The tornado tracked northeast and intensified once it passed through the Five Points community, snapping and uprooting many trees along County Road 267 and causing roof damage to a barn. The swath of timber damage became almost a mile wide along County Roads 281 and 282 and at least one residence suffered roof damage. The tornado continued to intensify as it crossed County Road 268 where large swaths of pine trees were snapped. A manufactured home was completely destroyed and blown downstream near County Road 278. Most of the structural damage happened along County Road 284. A couple residences suffered significant shingle damage, one had siding damage, and a manufactured home had its porch ripped off, impacting its walls. Another manufactured building was blown off its footings. Another significant swath of snapped pines was observed on County Road 283, some snapped off only a couple feet off the ground. The tornado then crossed into Georgia about eight-tenths of a mile southeast of the intersection of County Road 439 and County Road 283. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chapel Hill | - | Roofs missing from several barns and windows blown out at a residence. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Plains | 1.8 miles | 13 | |
| Penton | 1.9 miles | 11 | |
| Rock Fence | 2.9 miles | 11 | |
| Rollins | 3.4 miles | 13 | |
| Buffalo | 3.7 miles | 13 | |
| Marcoot | 3.9 miles | 13 | |
| Foster Crossroads | 4.5 miles | 10 | |
| Five Points | 4.7 miles | 11 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 156168. 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.






