Ola, Arkansas
18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Ward Township. It lies in ZIP code area 72853. The Survey maps it on the Ola quadrangle. 934 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 361 feet above sea level.
On record in Ola
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 1 record
Petit Jean River Bridgelisted 2010
Population over time
3 figuresOla fell from 1,204 to 934 between 2000 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,204 | |
| 2010 | 1,281 | +77 (+6%) |
| 2020 | 934 | -347 (-27%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 18 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.
- 1888 USGS Dardanelle #4 quadrangle1:62500
- 1890 USGS Dardanelle quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1956 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1964 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Ola quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1977 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1992 USGS Russellville quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
43 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 43 fires within 5 miles of Ola between 1992 and 2018, burning about 1,297 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 8 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Smoking | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 4.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 September 2000 | Smoking | 7.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 August 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Ola: 8 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unk | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk Gravel Pits 2 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk Gravel Pits 2 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
36 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ola in 36 storm reports between 1993 and 2021: 14 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | $150,000 | Trees were blown down in Ola. One tree caused minor damage to a house while another destroyed a mobile home. No one was injured. Elsewhere in Yell County, fallen trees blocked many county roads and knocked down power lines. |
| April 2008 | Flash Flood | Ola | $100,000 | Several residents near Ola were evacuated due to rising waters from a nearby creek. Flood waters reached the interior of one residence and a church in Ola. Arkansas Highway 28 between Rover and Plainview was closed due to rising waters from Porter Creek. Arkansas Highway 28 was closed between Rover and Briggsville due to a culvert being washed out. County roads and secondary roads in Danville were flooded. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | $25,000 | The roof of a chicken house was badly damaged near Ola. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | $25,000 | Part of a roof was torn off, and trees and power lines were blown down. |
| September 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | $10,000 | Trees were blown down on Arkansas 28. |
| March 2008 | Flash Flood | Ola | $10,000 | South Cook Road was closed and water was over South Fifth and over Old Highway 10. A few low water crossings were covered. |
| April 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | $7,000 | Roofing was blown off a house, a shed was destroyed, and trees were blown down. |
| May 2015 | Tornado (EF1) | Ola | $5,000 | Some trees and power lines were blown down. |
| September 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | $5,000 | A few trees were blown down. |
| December 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | $5,000 | Trees were blown down. |
| October 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | $5,000 | Some trees were blown down. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | $2,000 | A tree was blown down on Arkansas 28. |
| April 2012 | Hail | Ola | - | Windows and skylights were broken at Two Rivers High School. |
| April 2012 | Hail | Ola | - | A hailstone measuring 2.25 inches was still on the ground 11 hours after it fell. At the height of the storm, the hail piled up as much as 8 inches deep. |
| August 2009 | Flash Flood | Ola | - | Water was covering the roadway in the town of Ola. |
| August 2006 | Flash Flood | Ola | - | Heavy rains flooded several streets in Ola. The high water reached depths of about 2 feet on a few streets, especially on Old Highway 10. |
| May 2003 | Tornado (F1) | Ola | - | A weak tornado touched down over eastern Yell County. The tornado tracked across mostly rural areas with a number of trees blown down, including a few large ones. |
| December 1999 | Tornado (F1) | Ola | - | A weak tornado was spawned in Yell County. The tornado developed just northwest of Ola and damaged a couple of old chicken houses and flattened an old barn. A few houses suffered some roof damage, with damage to a few outbuildings as well. One house suffered more extensive damage with a broken front porch window, a damaged front porch, and several trees blown onto a metal fence. A few dozen trees, power lines and power poles were also downed before the tornado dissipated about 2 miles northeast of Centerville. |
| April 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | - | Thunderstorm winds downed some large tree limbs. |
| October 2021 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| May 2020 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| April 2012 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Funnel Cloud | Ola | - | no account filed |
| March 2010 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Flash Flood | Ola | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | - | no account filed |
| November 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | - | no account filed |
| April 1998 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ola | - | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Hail | Ola | - | no account filed |
| April 1993 | Hail | Ola | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mickles | 4.4 miles | 17 | |
| Petit Jean | 4.6 miles | 18 | |
| Birta | 4.9 miles | 18 | |
| Plainview | 4.9 miles | 12 | |
| Kingston | 5.0 miles | 17 | |
| Mount George | 5.7 miles | 18 | |
| Centerville | 6.3 miles | 18 | |
| Alpha | 6.5 miles | 17 |
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 Ola | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79285 | 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 81884. 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.








