BlockBefore

Kaolin, Alabama

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Valley Head-Mentone census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35989. The Survey maps it on the Sulphur Springs quadrangle.

Kaolin within DeKalb County

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 23 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

334 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 334 fires within 5 miles of Kaolin between 1992 and 2020, burning about 10,113 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 195 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/incendiarism195
Debris and open burning75
Missing data/not specified/undetermined44
Recreation and ceremony7
Equipment and vehicle use4
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Natural1
Other causes1

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
29 September 2007Debris and open burningunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined22 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionNOR-20120924-001
24 September 2005Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
20 September 2008Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry CommissionCO RD 759, VALLEY HEAD ALABAMA, AL
2 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionNOR-20150902-002
19 September 1993Arson/incendiarism3.5 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry CommissionNOR-20150918-002
13 September 2005Arson/incendiarism6.0 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

10 of 27 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 27 workings within 5 miles of Kaolin: 14 occurrences, 8 prospects, 5 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Sulfur-Pyrite. 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
Unnamed ProspectSulfur-PyriteProspect
Clyde Hulgen Iron PropertyIronOccurrence
J.C.Mcelroy ProspectIronOccurrence
L.O.Clark ProspectIronOccurrence
Ragon Mining Co. Battelle AreaIronPast ProducerHematite
UnnamedIronPast ProducerHematite
Unnamed MineIronPast Producer
Unnamed ProspectIronOccurrence
Unnamed ProspectIronOccurrence
Unnamed ProspectIronProspect

Every working recorded in DeKalb County

Storms near this place

3 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kaolin in 3 storm reports between 2011 and 2025: 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2025Thunderstorm WindKaolin$5,000Multiple trees were knocked down on I-59 close to the Hammondville exit. Time estimated by radar.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindKaolin$1,000A tree was down at CR 730 at CR 241. Time estimated by radar.
April 2011Tornado (EF1)Kaolin-A tornado producing damage of EF-1 intensity with peak winds of up to 100 mph touched down near Mentone. The tornado first touched down west of County Road 89 north of downtown Mentone. The tornado moved along a ridge line uprooting many softwood and hardwood trees and snapping them sporadically. The tornado eventually straddled the road further north partially removing a roof to a residence and snapping numerous trees in this area. The tornado lifted about a mile shy of the Georgia state line.

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
Battelle1.7 miles23
Oak Grove3.3 miles21
Mentone3.3 miles22
Hammondville4.0 miles22
Valley Head4.4 miles22
Townsend Crossroads4.6 miles21
Riverdale4.7 miles22
Sulphur Springs4.8 miles23

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 156543. 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.