BlockBefore

Opal, Arkansas

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Fulton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 71953. The Survey maps it on the Pine Ridge quadrangle.

Opal within Polk County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 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

46 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 46 fires within 5 miles of Opal between 1994 and 2019, burning about 847 acres in total. 16 started naturally. 9 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
Natural16
Debris and open burning11
Arson/incendiarism9
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Recreation and ceremony2
Equipment and vehicle use1
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
6 September 2006Arson/incendiarism30 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1999Natural1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
14 September 2011Natural41 acresOuachita National ForestPOST OAK
14 September 2011Natural104 acresOuachita National ForestW87C
11 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
8 August 2011Natural33 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
7 August 2011Natural159 acresOuachita National ForestOPAL
5 August 1998Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreOuachita National ForestDOG

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Polk County

Storms near this place

3 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Opal in 3 storm reports between 1999 and 2011: 2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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
November 2006Thunderstorm WindOpal-Several trees were downed.
May 2011HailOpal-no account filed
October 1999HailOpal-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
Cherry Hill3.2 miles15
Big Fork3.8 miles15
Yocana4.8 miles19
Board Camp5.6 miles19
Highland6.2 miles15
Pine Grove7.7 miles19
Ink7.9 miles19
Posey Hollow8.6 miles19

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 72955. 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.

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.