Lester, Arkansas
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1989. It stands in River Township. It lies in ZIP code area 71726. It stands on Bragg Mill Creek. The Survey maps it on the Bragg City quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 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.
- 1903 USGS Camden quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Bragg City quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Camden quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS El Dorado quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
105 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 105 fires within 5 miles of Lester between 1997 and 2020, burning about 649 acres in total. 10 started naturally. 34 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 | 34 |
| Debris and open burning | 29 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24 |
| Natural | 10 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2015 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 2002 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 2 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 12 September 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 12 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 11 September 2011 | Natural | 65 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 10 September 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Lester: 6 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Iron, Quartz, Sulfur, Phosphorus-Phosphates. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Quartz, Iron, Sulfur, Phosphorus-Phosphates | Unknown | ||
| Aggie Mccree Property | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| No Name | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| No Name | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| T.I.Brown Property | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| unnamed | Clay | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
8 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lester in 8 storm reports between 2000 and 2023: 3 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2009 | Tornado (EF2) | Lester | $200,000 | The tornado caused a massive tree blowdown soon after touching down. It then passed west of Velie and near Amy. One house had part of one wall and a portion of its roof torn off, part of the roof was torn off a mobile home, another mobile home was blown off its foundation, and several outbuildings were damaged. The tornado exited Ouachita County about 3 1/3 miles east-northeast of Smead and continued into Dallas County about 3 2/3 miles west-southwest of Holly Springs. |
| August 2014 | Flash Flood | Lester | $50,000 | Street flooding occurred in Camden. At times between 8 and 9 AM CDT, heavy rain reduced the visibility at the Camden airport to less than 1/4 mile. |
| May 2009 | Flash Flood | Lester | $40,000 | Portions of Arkansas Highway 7 north of Camden were barricaded for a period of time due to high water. Also, county roads 88, 223, 234, 96, and 11 were flooded. |
| May 2009 | Flash Flood | Lester | $20,000 | Flooding occurred on many county roads. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lester | $1,000 | A tree was blown down on Arkansas Highway 24. |
| April 2023 | Flood | Lester | - | Heavy rain brought flooding to the Ouachita River at Camden. |
| April 2004 | Hail | Lester | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lester | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wise (historical) | 1.0 miles | 15 | |
| Lester Junction | 1.7 miles | 15 | |
| Bragg City | 3.7 miles | 15 | |
| Van Wagoner (historical) | 4.2 miles | 15 | |
| Kent | 5.9 miles | 15 | |
| Velie | 6.3 miles | 15 | |
| Camden | 6.3 miles | 17 | |
| Chidester | 6.5 miles | 16 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 58060. 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.







