Pencil Bluff, Arkansas
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Pencil Bluff Township. It lies in ZIP code area 71965. It stands on Allen Creek. The Survey maps it on the Sims quadrangle. 72 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 748 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 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.
- 1890 USGS Mount Ida quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1890 USGS Mt Ida quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Mount Ida quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1960 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Little Rock quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Lake Ouachita quadrangle1:100000
- 1986 USGS Sims quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
67 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 67 fires within 5 miles of Pencil Bluff between 1992 and 2019, burning about 271 acres in total. 10 started naturally. 32 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 | 32 |
| Natural | 10 |
| Debris and open burning | 9 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Ouachita National Forest | FIDDLER #2 |
| 5 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Ouachita National Forest | FIDDLER #1 |
| 1 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.0 acres | Ouachita National Forest | RAINEY CREEK |
| 31 August 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Ouachita National Forest | CHASEWOOD |
| 30 August 1997 | Debris and open burning | 7.5 acres | Ouachita National Forest | SIMS |
| 28 August 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Ouachita National Forest | BRILEY #1 |
| 28 August 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Ouachita National Forest | BRILEY #2 |
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 Pencil Bluff: 6 unknowns, 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Quartz, Barium-Barite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoyt-Williams Prospect | Barium-Barite | Unknown | ||
| Magic Presance Mine | Quartz | Past Producer | 1986, 1987 | |
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
24 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Pencil Bluff in 24 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 10 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 4 flash flood, 2 flood. The reports record 3 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2013 | Flash Flood | Pencil Bluff | 3 hurt, $500,000 | Brushy Creek washed a house off its foundation about 3.8 miles west-northwest of Pencil Bluff. The house finally stopped moving when it ran up against a tree line. The occupants of the house survived. U.S. 270 flooded near Pencil Bluff and Arkansas 8 flooded near Norman. Numerous county roads were flooded. For the 24-hour period ending at 7 AM on the 31st, Oden measured 6.13 inches of rain and Pine Ridge collected 5.98 inches. At the Mount Ida airport, rainfall on the 30th measured 3.42 inches, followed by another 1.43 inches on the 31st. Also at the Mount Ida airport on the 30th, 0.66 inch of rain fell in the 5-minute period ending at 6:53 PM CDT, 0.97 inch fell in the 10-minute period ending at 6:54 PM CDT, and 1.20 inches fell in the 15-minute period ending at 6:56 PM CDT. |
| May 2011 | Flood | Pencil Bluff | $750,000 | A Boy Scout troop, which had been cut off by flooding at the Albert Pike Recreation Area on the Little Missouri River on the 1st, was rescued by a National Guard helicopter on the morning of the 3rd. The six scouts and two adults were not injured. |
| April 2011 | Flood | Pencil Bluff | $250,000 | Widespread areal flooding occurred. |
| June 2013 | Flash Flood | Pencil Bluff | $10,000 | A car was washed into flood waters at Caddo Gap, but the motorist was able to reach safety. Arkansas 88 at Sims was closed. Brushy Creek flooded Brushy Rd. west-northwest of Pencil Bluff in the same area where Brushy Creek washed a house off its foundation early on the morning of May 31st. Several motorists were stranded at Albert Pike Recreation Area when the Little Missouri River flooded a low-water crossing. The motorists were in no danger but had to wait for water to recede before they could cross the river. In addition, a number of county roads were flooded. Three-day rainfall totals for May 30th through June 1st included 10.23 inches at Pine Ridge, 10.16 inches at Oden, 8.65 inches at Mount Ida, and 7.52 inches at Caddo Gap. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pencil Bluff | $5,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down. |
| July 2010 | Flash Flood | Pencil Bluff | $2,000 | One foot of water covered Arkansas Highway 88 near Sims, closing the highway. |
| January 2025 | Flash Flood | Pencil Bluff | - | The US-Highway 270 bridge over the Ouachita River just east of Pencil Bluff was closed due to high water. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pencil Bluff | - | The Co-Op observer reported trees down across parts of Hwy 88 and Hwy 270. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pencil Bluff | - | Multiple trees were blown down in Pencil Bluff. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Pencil Bluff | - | Ping pong ball sized hail fell in Pencil Bluff. |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pencil Bluff | - | The COOP observer reported trees down. |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pencil Bluff | - | Part of a roof was blown off from strong winds. |
| March 2019 | Hail | Pencil Bluff | - | Quarter size hail was reported in Pencil Bluff. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pencil Bluff | - | Trees were downed on Highway 270. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pencil Bluff | - | Numerous trees blown down at River Haven Resort. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pencil Bluff | - | Some trees were blown down. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Pencil Bluff | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Pencil Bluff | - | no account filed |
| March 2010 | Hail | Pencil Bluff | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Pencil Bluff | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Pencil Bluff | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Pencil Bluff | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pencil Bluff | - | no account filed |
| March 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pencil Bluff | - | 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.
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 Pencil Bluff | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7162318 | 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 77974. 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.








