BlockBefore

Flat Rock, Alabama

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Long Island census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35966. It stands on McKinney Branch. The Survey maps it on the Flat Rock quadrangle. It stands 1,365 feet above sea level.

Flat Rock within Jackson County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 24 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

177 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 177 fires within 5 miles of Flat Rock between 1994 and 2020, burning about 2,991 acres in total. None started naturally. 56 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined61
Arson/incendiarism56
Debris and open burning55
Equipment and vehicle use3
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Recreation and ceremony1

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
7 September 1999Debris and open burning5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1998Debris and open burning5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 1999Arson/incendiarism20 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
22 September 2020Debris and open burning4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20200922-3
21 September 2005Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
20 September 1998Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
2 September 2011Debris and open burning65 acresAlabama Forestry Commission785 CR 346, AL
2 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jackson County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Flat Rock: 3 prospects. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Jac 16 Clay ProspectClayProspect
Jac 2 Clay ProspectClayProspect
Jac 8 Clay ProspectClayProspect

Every working recorded in Jackson County

Storms near this place

18 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Flat Rock in 18 storm reports between 2003 and 2025: 13 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 hail, 1 flash flood. The reports record 3 injuries. 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 2003Tornado (F1)Flat Rock3 hurt, $300,000F1 tornado (100 mph) winds damaged three mobile homes, 11 homes and four businesses from the Rosalie to Flat Rock communities.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$5,000Multiple trees were knocked down along Highway 71 in Flat Rock. Time estimated by radar.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$4,000Trees were snapped or uprooted near Highway 71 and county road 128.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$2,000A few trees were blown down near the post office.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$1,000A large tree was down in the road at CR 711 at Highway 117.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$1,000A tree was reported down along highway 71.
March 2023Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$1,000Large tree limbs were knocked down at 25127 AL Highway 71.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$500A tree was knocked down at the intersection of CR 326 and CR 709.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$500A tree was knocked down at the intersection of CR 326 and CR 709.
March 2021Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$200A tree was knocked down and blocking the road at the 18000 block of Highway 71 in Rosalie. Time estimated by radar.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$200A tree was knocked down in Flat Rock.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock$200A tree was knocked down blocking both lanes of Highway 117.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock-Two hundred customers were reported without power from Flat Rock south southwest to near the DeKalb/Jackson county line due to downed trees and powerlines.
October 2014HailFlat Rock-Quarter sized hail was reported near Ider, Alabama at the intersection of Highways 75 and 117.
April 2014Tornado (EF0)Flat Rock-A tornado touched down along County Road (CR) 326 in extreme eastern Jackson County, just south of CR 324. This produced EF-0 damage by uprooting hardwood trees. It tracked northeast into extreme northern DeKalb County just south of Higdon, Alabama.
June 2011HailFlat Rock-Quarter size hail was reported.
March 2003Flash FloodFlat Rock-Several inches of water over road.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindFlat Rock-several trees down along county road 325.

Every storm recorded in Jackson 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
Overlook2.4 miles24
Sulphur Springs3.1 miles24
Liberty Hill4.1 miles24
Shrader4.3 miles21
Fabius5.2 miles22
Old Fabius6.0 miles22
Rosalie6.2 miles20
Yucca6.3 miles22

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 Flat RockAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5457787The 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 118390. 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.