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Grove Oak, Alabama

22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Fyffe census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35975. It stands on Cart Branch. The Survey maps it on the Grove Oak quadrangle. It stands 1,175 feet above sea level.

Grove Oak within DeKalb County

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 22 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

66 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 66 fires within 5 miles of Grove Oak between 1994 and 2020, burning about 1,188 acres in total. None started naturally. 25 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/incendiarism25
Debris and open burning20
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15
Equipment and vehicle use2
Recreation and ceremony2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
4 September 2002Debris and open burning4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1995Railroad operations and maintenance4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 2016Debris and open burning1.2 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160930-17
28 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160928-38
25 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160925-21
20 September 1998Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 1999Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
17 September 1998Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in DeKalb County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Grove Oak: 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron. 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
Shelley Thomas ProspectIronOccurrence

Every working recorded in DeKalb County

Storms near this place

11 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Grove Oak in 11 storm reports between 2002 and 2024: 3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 flash flood. The reports record 2 deaths and 1 injury. 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
February 2019Flash FloodGrove Oak1 killed, 1 hurtA Jeep with 3 teenagers ventured across the spillway/bridge in Bucks Pocket State Park on February 22nd and was swept away by raging floodwaters following record rainfall across the area. The driver and passenger survived, found clinging to trees several hundred yards downstream, but the young man in the back of the vehicle perished. His body was found March 21 in Morgan Cove, after divers found the vehicle several days prior.
February 2020Flash FloodGrove Oak1 killedEMA reported that an 82-year old man was killed when he was swept away in his vehicle after crossing the spillway at Buck Pocket State Park. He was found 11 days later once heavy rainfall subsided in the canyon.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindGrove Oak$10,000Several trees were reported down in the Grove Oak community including some down on CR 121 and CR 144. Time was estimated from radar.
March 2024Thunderstorm WindGrove Oak$5,000Video and photographs from social media indicated damage to a chicken barn with metal pieces tossed near CR 72 in the Ten Broeck area. Time estimated by radar.
August 2002LightningGrove Oak$2,000A lightning strike ignited a grass fire just north of Grove Oak.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindGrove Oak$1,000A tree was blown down near the intersection of CR 400 and Hwy 227.
July 2023HailGrove Oak-Golf ball sized hail was reported in Grove Oak.
April 2017HailGrove Oak-Nickel sized hail was reported in Grove Oak.
April 2015Tornado (EF0)Grove Oak-A storm survey determined that a weak tornado touched down in the Fyffe, Alabama, community just east of the intersection of County road 545 and County Road 50. A few softwood trees were uprooted on the north side of the road. The tornado then moved east, crossing County Road 50 briefly, and uprooting some trees along County Road 536. The tornado then nearly paralleled County Road 50, destroying a large hay barn just east of County Road 528. The winds within the tornado along County Road 528 were estimated at around 85 mph with a narrow path of 30 yards. The tornado finally lifted west of County Road 539 after downing a few more trees.
April 2011Tornado (EF1)Grove Oak-The tornado continued its path briefly northeast into DeKalb County, mainly snapping large tree limbs off of trees and uprooting a few trees. The tornado then dissipated between Grove Oak and Bucks Pocket State Park near CR 19 and CR 544.
March 2003HailGrove Oak-Ping pong size hail reported.

Every storm recorded in DeKalb 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
South Hill2.1 miles22
Thirtynine (historical)2.8 miles22
Chigger Hill3.4 miles22
Ten Broeck3.7 miles21
Hopewell4.4 miles22
Hix (historical)4.6 miles21
Five Forks4.9 miles22
Lakeview5.1 miles21

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 Grove OakAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3709494The 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 150268. 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.