Fordyce, Alabama
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1906 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the La Fayette census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36850. The Survey maps it on the Dudleyville quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 10 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.
- 1906 USGS Dadeville quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Dudleyville quadrangle1:24000
- 1981 USGS Opelika quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
59 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 59 fires within 5 miles of Fordyce between 1995 and 2019, burning about 877 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 22 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 | 22 |
| Debris and open burning | 20 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 1997 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 September 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 26 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | ECR-20120926-003 |
| 20 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190920-8 |
| 3 August 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 23 August 2019 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190823-2 |
| 12 August 2002 | Debris and open burning | 3.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 14 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Fordyce: 6 occurrences, 5 prospects, 2 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Talc-Soapstone, Mica, Gold, Asbestos. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Clay Prospect | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Heard-Dennis Prospect | Asbestos | Prospect | ||
| Morgan Placer | Gold | Occurrence | 1892 | |
| Morgan Placer | Gold | Past Producer | Placer | |
| Buttston Mica Mine | Mica | Unknown | ||
| Carleton Mine | Mica | Past Producer | ||
| Saunders Prospect | Mica | Occurrence | ||
| Clem Vines North Prospect | Talc-Soapstone | Occurrence | Talc | |
| Clem Vines South Prospect | Talc-Soapstone | Occurrence | Talc | |
| Garfield Heard Property | Talc-Soapstone | Occurrence | Talc |
Storms near this place
2 since 2012Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Fordyce in 2 storm reports between 2012 and 2023: 2 tornado. The reports record 2 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2012 | Tornado (EF2) | Fordyce | 2 hurt | A tornado initially touched down west of Highway 62 in western Tallapoosa County. The tornado moved along a northeastern path in eastern Tallapoosa County and then moved into Chambers County. It maintained a half mile wide path as it crossed County 55 near Sandy Creek, with winds as strong as 120 mph. Thousands of hardwood and softwood trees were snapped across this path. It continued to the northeast, crossing Chattahospee Creek, and then passing just north of Trammel Crossroads, where a single-wide manufactured home was destroyed. The tornado began to weaken and narrow as it continued into central Chambers County, before it lifted along County Road 160, about 2 miles northwest of Highway 431. |
| January 2023 | Tornado (EF1) | Fordyce | - | National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in western Chambers County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 100 mph. This long track tornado began in Autauga County and tracked across northwest Elmore County, southern Coosa County, Tallapoosa County, and into Chambers County just north of Highway 118. The tornado continued northeast into Chambers County causing additional swaths of mainly timber damage in the EF0 to EF1 range. The tornado continued along County Road 114 for several miles before lifting just east of Highway 77. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiller Crossroads | 2.8 miles | 10 | |
| Trammel Crossroads | 3.0 miles | 10 | |
| Sikes | 4.5 miles | 10 | |
| Foster Crossroads | 4.7 miles | 10 | |
| Union Hill | 4.9 miles | 11 | |
| Marcoot | 5.1 miles | 13 | |
| Bosworth | 5.2 miles | 11 | |
| Shiloh | 5.5 miles | 11 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 157954. 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.





