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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.

Pencil Bluff within Montgomery 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

67 since 1992

Regional 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/incendiarism32
Natural10
Debris and open burning9
Power generation/transmission/distribution6
Recreation and ceremony3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
7 September 2005Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 1998Arson/incendiarismunder an acreOuachita National ForestFIDDLER #2
5 September 1998Arson/incendiarismunder an acreOuachita National ForestFIDDLER #1
1 September 1998Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresOuachita National ForestRAINEY CREEK
31 August 2000Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresOuachita National ForestCHASEWOOD
30 August 1997Debris and open burning7.5 acresOuachita National ForestSIMS
28 August 2000Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresOuachita National ForestBRILEY #1
28 August 2000Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresOuachita National ForestBRILEY #2

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Montgomery County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Hoyt-Williams ProspectBarium-BariteUnknown
Magic Presance MineQuartzPast Producer1986, 1987
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Montgomery County

Storms near this place

24 since 1994

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2013Flash FloodPencil Bluff3 hurt, $500,000Brushy 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 2011FloodPencil Bluff$750,000A 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 2011FloodPencil Bluff$250,000Widespread areal flooding occurred.
June 2013Flash FloodPencil Bluff$10,000A 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 1994Thunderstorm WindPencil Bluff$5,000Trees and power lines were blown down.
July 2010Flash FloodPencil Bluff$2,000One foot of water covered Arkansas Highway 88 near Sims, closing the highway.
January 2025Flash FloodPencil Bluff-The US-Highway 270 bridge over the Ouachita River just east of Pencil Bluff was closed due to high water.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindPencil Bluff-The Co-Op observer reported trees down across parts of Hwy 88 and Hwy 270.
May 2023Thunderstorm WindPencil Bluff-Multiple trees were blown down in Pencil Bluff.
June 2023HailPencil Bluff-Ping pong ball sized hail fell in Pencil Bluff.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindPencil Bluff-The COOP observer reported trees down.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindPencil Bluff-Part of a roof was blown off from strong winds.
March 2019HailPencil Bluff-Quarter size hail was reported in Pencil Bluff.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindPencil Bluff-Trees were downed on Highway 270.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindPencil Bluff-Numerous trees blown down at River Haven Resort.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindPencil Bluff-Some trees were blown down.
May 2011HailPencil Bluff-no account filed
May 2010HailPencil Bluff-no account filed
March 2010HailPencil Bluff-no account filed
August 2006HailPencil Bluff-no account filed
May 2003HailPencil Bluff-no account filed
May 1999HailPencil Bluff-no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindPencil Bluff-no account filed
March 1996Thunderstorm WindPencil Bluff-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Montgomery 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
Whitetown0.6 miles15
Oden2.4 miles15
Hog Jaw2.4 miles15
Sims3.1 miles15
Chasewood Landing3.2 miles15
Mauldin4.4 miles15
Gaston5.9 miles15
Gibbs6.5 miles15

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 BluffAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7162318The 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.