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South Calera, Alabama

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Calera census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35040. The Survey maps it on the Ozan quadrangle.

South Calera within Shelby County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 16 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

161 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 161 fires within 5 miles of South Calera between 1994 and 2020, burning about 2,229 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 64 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/incendiarism64
Debris and open burning60
Missing data/not specified/undetermined18
Equipment and vehicle use5
Recreation and ceremony5
Railroad operations and maintenance5
Natural2
Fireworks1
Smoking1

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 2002Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2000Debris and open burning10 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
29 September 2000Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
27 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionECR-20140927-001
24 September 1999Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
22 September 2005Arson/incendiarism23 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
22 September 1999Arson/incendiarism80 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
20 September 2019Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190920-15

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Shelby County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of South Calera: 4 unknowns, 4 producers, 2 past producers, 2 plants. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, Stone. 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
Calera PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPlant
Martin Marietta Cement PlantStonePlant
Chi 1 Clay ProspectClayProspect
Jenkins PitClayProducer
Roberta PitClayProducer
Montevallo MineStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Montevallo QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Roberta QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Roberta QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Heatley ProspectIronOccurrence

Every working recorded in Shelby County

Storms near this place

1 since 2025

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names South Calera in 1 storm report in 2025: 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
March 2025Tornado (EF1)South Calera-The tornado began in far northern Chilton County near the county line and moved quickly into Shelby County. It moved through South Calera and northward into downtown Calera, where mostly|tree damage was noted. There were several mobile/manufactured|homes damaged on 13th Street as the tornado paralleled US Highway|31 before crossing Interstate 65, where several campers at a|dealership were rolled and/or tossed. Numerous snapped trees were|noted at this location as well. The tornado made a left turn over|Limestone Parkway and moved north-northwest over a shopping|center just east of the intersection of US 31 and AL Highway 70.|Thereafter, the tornado moved into the cone of silence of the|KBMX RADAR near the O'Neal Quarry office, where many trees were|snapped and uprooted. After speaking with Lhoist quarry|officials, no damage was reported at the quarry, and the end of|the tornado was placed just to the north of Oak Tree Lane, where|a few trees were downed and metal farm buildings sustained minor|roof damage. Maximum winds were estimated to be around 90 mph at|both the mobile home neighborhood and the camper dealership. The total path length of the tornado was 7.47 miles.

Every storm recorded in Shelby 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
Calera2.0 miles19
Ozan2.8 miles16
Roberta3.4 miles19
Dry Valley3.6 miles19
Stems3.9 miles19
Valley Junction4.1 miles19
Springs Junction4.2 miles16
Montalla Acres4.5 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.

Wikidata item Q122569620The 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 157087. 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.