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.
Population over time
3 figuresSaks 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6,609 | |
| 2010 | 10,744 | |
| 2020 | 9,956 | -788 (-7%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 19 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.
- 1900 USGS Anniston quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1947 USGS Anniston quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Anniston quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Atlanta quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Anniston quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Atlanta quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Atlanta quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Anniston quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
188 since 1993Regional 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/undetermined | 65 |
| Debris and open burning | 42 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 39 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 20 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 11 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 8 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge | FM 94-10 |
| 6 September 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge | FM 95-14 |
| 3 September 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 25 September 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 800 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160925-18 |
| 22 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160922-14 |
| 18 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 63 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anniston Pits | Iron, Manganese | Past Producer | 1875 | |
| Not Known, Ammiston Area | Manganese, Iron | Past Producer | Residual | |
| Sand and Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Shirey Prospect No 2 | Mica | Prospect | ||
| Shirey Prospect No. 2 | Mica | Prospect | ||
| Donoho Mine | Clay | Producer | ||
| Lackey Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| Unnamed Mine | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Carter Street Deposit | Aluminum, Kaolin | Prospect | ||
| Eulation Pike Deposit | Aluminum, Kaolin | Prospect |
Storms near this place
12 since 2003Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2007 | Lightning | Saks | $500,000 | Lightning 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 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Saks | $100,000 | Saks High School sustained significant roof damage due to thunderstorm winds estimated at 80 mph, with one of the school's offices destroyed. |
| March 2003 | Hail | Saks | $7,000 | Golf ball size hail was reported in Saks. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Saks | - | 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 2025 | Tornado (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 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Saks | - | 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 2022 | Hail | Saks | - | Penny size hail reported in the city of Saks. |
| January 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Saks | - | Two power poles were snapped and tress were uprooted at the junction of Lenlock Lane and Arrow Avenue. |
| March 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Saks | - | The Acker Electic Company building sustained roof damage. |
| February 2009 | Hail | Saks | - | Reported in the Saks community. |
| June 2012 | Hail | Saks | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Saks | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Mountain | 1.0 miles | 19 | |
| Parkwood | 1.4 miles | 19 | |
| Hillcrest | 1.8 miles | 19 | |
| Blue Springs (historical) | 2.0 miles | 19 | |
| Leatherwood | 2.3 miles | 19 | |
| Lenlock | 2.4 miles | 19 | |
| Letchers | 2.7 miles | 19 | |
| Anniston | 2.7 miles | 19 |
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 Saks | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1261704 | The 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.







