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.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 16 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.
- 1890 USGS Bessemer quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Bessemer quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1909 USGS Columbiana quadrangle1:62500
- 1911 USGS Columbiana quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Birmingham quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Columbiana SW quadrangle1:24000
- 1979 USGS Ozan quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Birmingham South quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
161 since 1994Regional 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/incendiarism | 64 |
| Debris and open burning | 60 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 5 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 2002 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2000 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 September 2000 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | ECR-20140927-001 |
| 24 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 22 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 23 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 22 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 80 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190920-15 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 15 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calera Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Plant | ||
| Martin Marietta Cement Plant | Stone | Plant | ||
| Chi 1 Clay Prospect | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Jenkins Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| Roberta Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| Montevallo Mine | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Montevallo Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Roberta Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Roberta Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Heatley Prospect | Iron | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
1 since 2025Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2025 | Tornado (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. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calera | 2.0 miles | 19 | |
| Ozan | 2.8 miles | 16 | |
| Roberta | 3.4 miles | 19 | |
| Dry Valley | 3.6 miles | 19 | |
| Stems | 3.9 miles | 19 | |
| Valley Junction | 4.1 miles | 19 | |
| Springs Junction | 4.2 miles | 16 | |
| Montalla Acres | 4.5 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.
| Wikidata item Q122569620 | 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 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.









