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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.

Big Fork within Polk County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 15 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

76 since 1994

Regional 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
Natural31
Arson/incendiarism20
Debris and open burning13
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Equipment and vehicle use2
Recreation and ceremony2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Fireworks1

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
9 September 1995Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresOuachita National Forestnot named
6 September 2006Arson/incendiarism30 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1999Natural1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1995Naturalunder an acreOuachita National ForestABERNATHY SPRINGS #4
20 September 2000Arson/incendiarism1.5 acresOuachita National ForestMISSOURI MTN.
20 September 2000Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresOuachita National ForestCOUNTY LINE
14 September 2011Natural41 acresOuachita National ForestPOST OAK
14 September 2011Natural104 acresOuachita National ForestW87C

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Polk County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Lehrack QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Coon CreekManganesePast Producer
Lost Hatchet MineManganesePast Producer
Slatington Mountain ProspectsManganeseProspect1916

Every working recorded in Polk County

Storms near this place

14 since 1996

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2007Thunderstorm WindBig Fork1 hurtThe 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 2011Tornado (EF1)Big Fork$200,000A 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 2015Thunderstorm WindBig Fork$50,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the town of Big Fork. Some structures also received damage.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindBig Fork$50,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down all over the town of Big Fork. Some structures also received some damage.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindBig Fork-Several trees were downed.
April 2004Tornado (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 2004Thunderstorm WindBig Fork-Thunderstorm winds downed some large trees.
May 2014HailBig Fork-no account filed
June 2004HailBig Fork-no account filed
October 2004Flash FloodBig Fork-no account filed
October 2004Flash FloodBig Fork-no account filed
May 2003HailBig Fork-no account filed
August 1999Thunderstorm WindBig Fork-no account filed
April 1996HailBig Fork-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Polk 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
Opal3.8 miles15
Cherry Hill7.0 miles15
Board Camp7.5 miles19
Yocana8.3 miles19
Shady8.4 miles18
Highland9.7 miles15
Ink10.7 miles19
Nunley10.8 miles20

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 ForkAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4905716The 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.