Motts, Alabama
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Smiths Station census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36877. The Survey maps it on the Bleecker quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 14 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.
- 1907 USGS Opelika quadrangle1:125000
- 1909 USGS Opelika quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Bleecker quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1981 USGS Opelika quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
84 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 84 fires within 5 miles of Motts between 1993 and 2020, burning about 1,708 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 20 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 29 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 20 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 4 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Natural | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | 12 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160909-6 |
| 7 September 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 11 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 September 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 85 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190929-8 |
| 28 September 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 28 September 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 September 2007 | Natural | 6.0 acres | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 2 September 2014 | Fireworks | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | ECR-20140902-002 |
| 2 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 424 LEE ROAD 201, AL |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Motts: 1 producer. All of them still produce. 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearn Mine | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
9 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Motts in 9 storm reports between 2008 and 2026: 6 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 lightning. The reports record 1 death. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2024 | Lightning | Motts | 1 killed | A lightning strike at the Lee County Flea Market in Smiths Station at approximately 12:45 PM CDT resulted in a fatality. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Motts | $2,000 | A flea market, near the intersection of US-280 and CR-379, near Smiths Station, had several tents blown over, and several pieces of metal roofing blown off and thrown down stream. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Motts | $2,000 | Trees were reported down on U.S. Hwy 80 in Smiths Station. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Motts | $2,000 | Several trees were blown down across the railroad tracks near CR-288 and US-280, northwest of Smiths Station. |
| March 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Motts | - | An outbuilding/shed was partially blown into the roadway at Lee Road 246 and Lee Road 289. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Motts | - | A microburst occurred in Smiths Station, with large sections of metal roofing removed and trusses blown around at mostly open air buildings at the Lee County Flea Market. Additionally, small trees and tree limbs were snapped and power lines were downed around Smiths Station, including along Lee Roads 379, 430, 769, 2148, and Highway 280. |
| March 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Motts | - | Several trees were blown down near the intersection of Highway 280 and Lee Road 379. |
| March 2009 | Hail | Motts | - | Penny sized hail was reported at a convenience store northwest of Smiths Station, for the second time in under an hour. |
| March 2009 | Hail | Motts | - | Penny sized hail was reported at a convenience store northwest of Smiths Station. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bleecker | 1.5 miles | 14 | |
| Shotwell | 2.5 miles | 14 | |
| Smiths Station | 3.1 miles | 14 | |
| Powledge | 3.9 miles | 13 | |
| Wacoochee Valley | 3.9 miles | 13 | |
| Monterey Heights | 4.9 miles | 14 | |
| Moffits Mill | 5.0 miles | 14 | |
| Salem | 5.6 miles | 14 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 154475. 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.






