Big Fork, Arkansas
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1906 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Fulton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 71953. It stands on Butcherknife Creek. The Survey maps it on the Big Fork quadrangle. It stands 1,020 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 15 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.
- 1906 USGS Caddo Gap quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1936 USGS Athens quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1936 USGS Athens quadrangle1:48000
- 1942 USGS Athens quadrangle1:62500
- 1955 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1980 USGS Big Fork quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Arkadelphia quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
76 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 76 fires within 5 miles of Big Fork between 1994 and 2019, burning about 1,500 acres in total. 31 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 31 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 20 |
| Debris and open burning | 13 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Fireworks | 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 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Ouachita National Forest | not named |
| 6 September 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 30 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 1999 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | Ouachita National Forest | ABERNATHY SPRINGS #4 |
| 20 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.5 acres | Ouachita National Forest | MISSOURI MTN. |
| 20 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Ouachita National Forest | COUNTY LINE |
| 14 September 2011 | Natural | 41 acres | Ouachita National Forest | POST OAK |
| 14 September 2011 | Natural | 104 acres | Ouachita National Forest | W87C |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Big Fork: 3 past producers, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Manganese, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lehrack Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Coon Creek | Manganese | Past Producer | ||
| Lost Hatchet Mine | Manganese | Past Producer | ||
| Slatington Mountain Prospects | Manganese | Prospect | 1916 |
Storms near this place
14 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Big Fork in 14 storm reports between 1996 and 2019: 6 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 2 tornado, 2 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Fork | 1 hurt | The Local Coordinator reported several trees and power lines were down in the Big Fork community. One fell on a pickup truck resulting in minor injury. Power was out in Big Fork for a short time. |
| April 2011 | Tornado (EF1) | Big Fork | $200,000 | A tornado blew down numerous trees and power lines. The tornado exited Polk County east-northeast of Opal and entered Montgomery County southwest of Pine Ridge. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Fork | $50,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the town of Big Fork. Some structures also received damage. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Fork | $50,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down all over the town of Big Fork. Some structures also received some damage. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Fork | - | Several trees were downed. |
| April 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Big Fork | - | A weak tornado was spawned in southeast Polk County about 8 miles southeast of Big Fork. The tornado pushed over a few trees and downed large tree limbs before moving into southwest Montgomery County. |
| March 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Fork | - | Thunderstorm winds downed some large trees. |
| May 2014 | Hail | Big Fork | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Big Fork | - | no account filed |
| October 2004 | Flash Flood | Big Fork | - | no account filed |
| October 2004 | Flash Flood | Big Fork | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Big Fork | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Fork | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Big Fork | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opal | 3.8 miles | 15 | |
| Cherry Hill | 7.0 miles | 15 | |
| Board Camp | 7.5 miles | 19 | |
| Yocana | 8.3 miles | 19 | |
| Shady | 8.4 miles | 18 | |
| Highland | 9.7 miles | 15 | |
| Ink | 10.7 miles | 19 | |
| Nunley | 10.8 miles | 20 |
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 Big Fork | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4905716 | 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 76338. 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.









