BlockBefore

Saks, Alabama

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1900 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Anniston census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36206. It lies near Iron Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Anniston quadrangle. 9,956 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 820 feet above sea level.

Saks within Calhoun County

Population over time

3 figures

Saks grew from 6,609 to 9,956 between 1970 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
19706,609
201010,744
20209,956-788 (-7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 19 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

188 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 188 fires within 5 miles of Saks between 1993 and 2020, burning about 7,651 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 39 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/undetermined65
Debris and open burning42
Arson/incendiarism39
Equipment and vehicle use20
Recreation and ceremony11
Misuse of fire by a minor8
Smoking2
Natural1

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 1994Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWheeler National Wildlife RefugeFM 94-10
6 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWheeler National Wildlife RefugeFM 95-14
3 September 2007Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
3 September 2002Arson/incendiarism20 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
27 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
25 September 2016Equipment and vehicle use800 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160925-18
22 September 2016Debris and open burning5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160922-14
18 September 1998Debris and open burning5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Calhoun County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 63 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 63 workings within 5 miles of Saks: 34 unknowns, 19 past producers, 7 prospects, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Aluminum, Kaolin, 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
Anniston PitsIron, ManganesePast Producer1875
Not Known, Ammiston AreaManganese, IronPast ProducerResidual
Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Shirey Prospect No 2MicaProspect
Shirey Prospect No. 2MicaProspect
Donoho MineClayProducer
Lackey PitClayProducer
Unnamed MineClayPast Producer
Carter Street DepositAluminum, KaolinProspect
Eulation Pike DepositAluminum, KaolinProspect

Every working recorded in Calhoun County

Storms near this place

12 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Saks in 12 storm reports between 2003 and 2025: 5 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 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
July 2007LightningSaks$500,000Lightning struck a house in the Indian Oaks area of Saks, causing it to catch fire. The fire completely destroyed the attic and second story of the home, which collapsed onto the first floor, causing extensive damage throughout. The owners, after first attempting to extinguish the fire, escaped unharmed.
February 2008Thunderstorm WindSaks$100,000Saks High School sustained significant roof damage due to thunderstorm winds estimated at 80 mph, with one of the school's offices destroyed.
March 2003HailSaks$7,000Golf ball size hail was reported in Saks.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindSaks-Numerous trees and power lines were downed across Calhoun County from the Boiling Springs area south of Ohatchee eastward to near Saks and Fort McClellan. Some trees fell on homes or blocked roads. Several trees were downed in neighborhoods north of U.S. Highway 431 in Saks, while a tornado occurred in the area south of U.S. 431.
May 2025Tornado (EF1)Saks-This tornado appears to have touched down somewhere in the|restricted area of the Pelham Range based on radar. The first|accessible damage occurred along Calhoun County Road (CR)|109 (Bynum Leatherwood Rd) just north of the Lloyds Chapel|Cemetery, where several large trees were uprooted. The tornado|continued to the east-southeast crossing Reaves Road and Gardendale Drive,|where swaths of trees were snapped or uprooted, with trees|falling on a manufactured home and a site built home in the area. Several pine trees were still blocking traffic across CR|46 (Parkwood Rd) near the intersection with McCulley Ln. The|tornado continued east-southeast roughly along CR 46, before crossing|Alexandria Rd, where several streets were blocked with uprooted|hardwood trees. As the tornado approached US Highway 431,|significant damage continued but became more sparse and sporadic|as the tornado appeared to end and transition to a thunderstorm|wind event.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindSaks-Several trees and power lines were downed around the Anniston/Saks/Oxford areas, including along E 54th St, W 51st St, Kronospan Way, Ingram St, Bains Gap Rd, and Toney St.
May 2022HailSaks-Penny size hail reported in the city of Saks.
January 2014Thunderstorm WindSaks-Two power poles were snapped and tress were uprooted at the junction of Lenlock Lane and Arrow Avenue.
March 2013Thunderstorm WindSaks-The Acker Electic Company building sustained roof damage.
February 2009HailSaks-Reported in the Saks community.
June 2012HailSaks-no account filed
May 2010HailSaks-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Calhoun 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
Blue Mountain1.0 miles19
Parkwood1.4 miles19
Hillcrest1.8 miles19
Blue Springs (historical)2.0 miles19
Leatherwood2.3 miles19
Lenlock2.4 miles19
Letchers2.7 miles19
Anniston2.7 miles19

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 SaksAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1261704The 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 126228. 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.