Elvira, Alabama

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Alabaster-Helena census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35244. It stands on Martin Brook. The Survey maps it on the Helena quadrangle.

Elvira within Shelby County

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 27 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.

1890 USGS Bessemer quadrangle1:125000
1892 USGS Bessemer quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
1905 USGS Bessemer Iron District quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
1905 USGS Bessemer Special quadrangle1:48000
1907 USGS Bessemer Iron District quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
1907 USGS Bessemer Special quadrangle1:62500
1953 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
1956 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
1957 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
1959 USGS Helena quadrangle1:24000, 7 printings
1975 USGS Helena quadrangle1:24000
1984 USGS Birmingham South quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
1997 USGS Helena quadrangle1:24000

Fires near this place

96 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 96 fires within 5 miles of Elvira between 1994 and 2019, burning about 780 acres in total. None started naturally. 36 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/incendiarism	36
Debris and open burning	33
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	10
Railroad operations and maintenance	8
Recreation and ceremony	5
Equipment and vehicle use	1
Smoking	1
Misuse of fire by a minor	1
Power generation/transmission/distribution	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
5 September 1995	Debris and open burning	14 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
29 September 2000	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
19 September 2000	Arson/incendiarism	3.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
17 September 1998	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
11 September 2002	Smoking	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
3 August 1999	Railroad operations and maintenance	under an acre	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
23 August 2007	Debris and open burning	2.0 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named
2 August 1999	Railroad operations and maintenance	11 acres	Alabama Forestry Commission	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Shelby County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Elvira: 4 producers, 3 past producers, 1 prospect, 1 unknown. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, Bloating Material. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Parkwood	Bloating Material	Producer	Sedimentary
Helena Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Jef 6 Clay Prospect	Clay	Prospect
Lacon Plant No. 3 Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Parkwood Mine	Clay	Producer
Helena, Ne Of	Iron	Past Producer	Residual
Pyne Mine	Iron	Past Producer	Hematite
Pyne Mine	Iron	Past Producer
Unnamed	Iron	Unknown

Every working recorded in Shelby County

Storms near this place

4 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Elvira in 4 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 2 hail, 1 flood, 1 flash flood. The reports record 2 deaths. 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
October 2021	Flash Flood	Elvira	2 killed	During the evening of the 6th, a north to south low-level boundary set up along the Interstate 65 corridor that became the focus for back-building thunderstorms and heavy rainfall. Over the course of just a few hours, a wide swath of 6-10 inches of rain occurred. Numerous roads became submerged and impassable. Countless water rescues were performed as travelers either became trapped by or drove into flood waters. Flood water several feet deep impacted parts of neighborhoods and townhomes. Several businesses were damaged by flooding. Extreme runoff also caused creeks and other waterways to rapidly swell. There was at least one report of a partial landslide in Pelham, sending dirt, rocks, and pine trees onto the road. A Flash Flood Watch had already been in place for a few days, highlighting the potential for flooding rainfall. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for north Shelby County early in the evening. At least four rounds of thunderstorms occurred, with ongoing and forecast impacts pushing the event to the highest level of flash flooding, a Flash Flood Emergency. Scanner traffic became nonstop with public calls for help and first responder needs for mutual aid and resources. Even after the rain subsided later in the evening hours,\|flooding persisted for several more hours. Two deaths occurred when a vehicle was swept off the roadway and into a creek.
March 2010	Flood	Elvira	$500,000	What began as flash flooding transitioned into widespread long term flooding across a large portion of Shelby County during the late morning of the 10th. Dozens of roads were closed across the county due to high water, and as many as ten roads were still closed two days later. The hardest hit area was the western portion of the county, especially around the Helena, Pelham, and Alabaster areas, where more than 8 inches of rain fell during the 3 day period. In Alabaster, several vehicles were overcome by high water, and the occupants briefly became trapped. Other communities that experienced flooding included Montevallo, Columbiana, Shelby, and Wilsonville.
May 2025	Hail	Elvira	-	Quarter-size hail along Southview Dr.
May 2023	Hail	Elvira	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Shelby 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Southpointe	1.2 miles	24
Weeping Oaks	1.6 miles	24
Tacoa	1.6 miles	27
Paramount	2.1 miles	27
Helena	2.2 miles	27
Falliston	2.4 miles	27
Royal Oaks	2.4 miles	27
Cahaba Valley Estates	2.9 miles	27

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 156314. 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.