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Forrest City, Arkansas

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1939 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Madison Township. It lies in ZIP code area 72335. The Survey maps it on the Forrest City quadrangle. 13,015 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 253 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Forrest City within St. Francis County

On record in Forrest City

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 8 records

Population over time

2 figures

Forrest City fell from 15,371 to 13,015 between 2010 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.

YearPeople Change
201015,371
202013,015-2,356 (-15%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 12 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

54 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 54 fires within 5 miles of Forrest City between 1997 and 2020, burning about 469 acres in total. None started naturally. 16 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
Debris and open burning24
Arson/incendiarism16
Missing data/not specified/undetermined6
Equipment and vehicle use5
Misuse of fire by a minor3

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
3 September 2000Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
27 September 1999Debris and open burning3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
13 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
18 August 1999Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
11 August 2000Debris and open burning2.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
7 July 1998Arson/incendiarism29 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
25 July 2003Debris and open burning2.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
5 April 2005Debris and open burning2.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in St. Francis County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Forrest City: 8 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Colvins PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Crisp PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Forrest City PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Forrest City Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
St.Francis Materials CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in St. Francis County

Storms near this place

52 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Forrest City in 52 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 25 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 6 flash flood, 1 flood. 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
May 2007LightningForrest City$90,000Lightning struck a local public housing complex on Rice Street in Forrest City. A fire started and spread to other apartments. No injuries were reported.
October 2014Thunderstorm WindForrest City$50,000Straight line winds blew a roof off a classroom building onto a nearby roof.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindForrest City$50,000One mobile home was badly damaged. Numerous trees, power poles and power lines were blown down. Nearly 14,000 homes were without power for a couple of days.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindForrest City$50,000Some roofs were damaged.
October 2009Flash FloodForrest City$25,000Parts of State Highway 1 between Forrest City and Wynne were flooded. Six homes and one car dealership were flooded in that area. Several other homes west of Forrest City near County Road 226 had water approaching them. At least two people were evacuated from this area.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindForrest City$25,000The roof and carport of a house located on Red Haven Drive in Forrest City were damaged by straight line winds. Numerous power lines were knocked down across the city as well.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindForrest City$20,000The Hughes High School gymnasium had most of its roof blown off. The locker rooms near the football field were also damaged. Several trees and power lines were knocked down.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindForrest City$15,000A couple of trees and power poles were blown down.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindForrest City$15,000A fence was damaged. Several trees and power poles were knocked down. One tree fell on a shed.
April 1999Thunderstorm WindForrest City$15,000A roof was blown off of a house trailer. Several trees were knocked down.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindForrest City$11,000A car wash and a liquor store suffered roof damage. Several trees and power lines were also knocked down.
April 2025HailForrest City$10,000Several car windows broken from large hail.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindForrest City$10,000Straight line winds knocked down trees and power lines across St. Francis County.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindForrest City$10,000A roof collapsed on a building at a country club. A few trees were blown down.
April 2000Thunderstorm WindForrest City$10,000Several trees and power lines were blown down.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindForrest City$10,000Several buildings suffered damage to their roofs and awnings. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindForrest City$5,000Some tree limbs and power lines were knocked down.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindForrest City$5,000One building was damaged. Some trees were blown down.
January 1999Thunderstorm WindForrest City$5,000A few large trees were knocked down.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindForrest City$5,000Some trees were blown down just east of Forrest City.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindForrest City$5,000Some power lines were blown down.
November 1995Thunderstorm WindForrest City$5,000Several trees were knocked down. One tree fell onto a house.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindForrest City$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed some telephone lines.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindForrest City$5,000Thunderstorm winds blew down a few trees, one of which fell on top of a house.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindForrest City$2,000Utility pole knocked down along Highway 1 south of Forrest City.
November 1996Thunderstorm WindForrest City$2,000no account filed
November 1996Thunderstorm WindForrest City$2,000no account filed
March 2004Flash FloodForrest City$1,000Several roads were flooded.
April 2004Flash FloodForrest City$1,000Several streets were flooded.
April 1999FloodForrest City$1,000Highway 70 near Forrest City was flooded with 4 to 5 inches of water on the road.
June 2001HailForrest City$250no account filed
May 2001HailForrest City$100no account filed
January 1999HailForrest City$100no account filed
May 2002HailForrest City$50no account filed
June 2001HailForrest City$50no account filed
March 1996HailForrest City$20no account filed
May 2003HailForrest City$10no account filed
May 2003HailForrest City$10no account filed
April 2025HailForrest City-Baseball sized hail fell in the 100 block of Washington St.
March 2016Flash FloodForrest City-Highway 1 was closed due to flash flooding.
December 2013Flash FloodForrest City-Heavy rain produced flash flooding in St. Francis County. Highway 261 near Palestine was flooded. Dawson and Washington Roads were flooded in Forrest City.
February 2011Thunderstorm WindForrest City-Straight line winds propelled tree branches through the roof of a home in Forrest City and another home in Madison. Power poles were knocked down in Forrest City as well.
May 2008Flash FloodForrest City-Heavy rain produced street flooding along Highway 1, south of Forrest City.
June 1994HailForrest City-Thunderstorm winds blew down a few trees, one of which fell on top of a house.
April 2025HailForrest City-no account filed
April 2025HailForrest City-no account filed
May 2011HailForrest City-no account filed
April 2011HailForrest City-no account filed
May 2010HailForrest City-no account filed
May 2010HailForrest City-no account filed
May 2010HailForrest City-no account filed
January 1995HailForrest City-no account filed

Every storm recorded in St. Francis 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
Monica0.8 miles16
Mount Vernon (historical)1.2 miles12
Rosine2.2 miles12
Redfern2.6 miles16
Crow Creek2.8 miles14
Madison3.6 miles14
Becks3.6 miles16
Union Hill3.9 miles12

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 Forrest CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79403The 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 83152. 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.