West Fork, Arkansas
17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1898 and the latest in 1994. It stands in West Fork Township. It lies in ZIP code area 72774. It lies near West Mountain. The Survey maps it on the West Fork quadrangle. 2,331 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,342 feet above sea level.
On record in West Fork
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
Mineral Springs Community Buildinglisted 1998
Population over time
3 figuresWest Fork grew from 2,042 to 2,331 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 | 2,042 | |
| 2010 | 2,317 | +275 (+13%) |
| 2020 | 2,331 | +14 (+1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 17 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.
- 1898 USGS Winslow quadrangle1:125000
- 1901 USGS Winslow quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1946 USGS Fort Smith quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Fort Smith quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Fort Smith quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS West Fork quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1978 USGS Fort Smith quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Stilwell quadrangle1:100000
- 1994 USGS West Fork quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
41 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 41 fires within 5 miles of West Fork between 1998 and 2020, burning about 144 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 21 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 August 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 August 2011 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 August 2011 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 August 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 25 August 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 14 August 2011 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of West Fork: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, Dimension, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr.Ray Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Limestone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| West Fork Quarry & Plant | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
37 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Fork in 37 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 18 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 9 flash flood, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | West Fork | $100,000 | Several secondary roads were washed out by flood water. |
| June 2025 | Tornado (EF1) | West Fork | $25,000 | This tornado developed east of Highway 71, along Mineral Springs Road. It moved east along Mineral Springs Road, severely damaging a couple outbuildings, uprooting multiple trees, and snapping numerous large tree limbs. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 90 to 100 mph. |
| April 2026 | Hail | West Fork | $15,000 | Half dollar size hail damaged homes and vehicles. |
| November 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Fork | $15,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind destroyed an outbuilding and snapped large tree limbs. |
| March 2019 | Hail | West Fork | $15,000 | no account filed |
| March 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Fork | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour destroyed a shed and blew the roof off a barn. Numerous trees and power lines were also blown down. |
| October 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Fork | $2,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind uprooted a large tree and damaged a barn. |
| April 2025 | Flash Flood | West Fork | - | The southbound on-ramp to I-49 in West Fork was closed by the Arkansas Department of Transportation due to flooding. |
| June 2019 | Flash Flood | West Fork | - | Riverside Park in West Fork was flooded, and nearby homes were evacuated. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | West Fork | - | Dye Creek Road was closed due to high water. |
| May 2015 | Flash Flood | West Fork | - | Dye Creek Road was flooded. |
| May 2015 | Flash Flood | West Fork | - | A vehicle was stranded in flood water. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Fork | - | A large tree was uprooted by strong thunderstorm wind on McGee Street. |
| March 2012 | Flash Flood | West Fork | - | Bridges were under water and closed at Dye Creek Road between Highway 71 and Interstate 540. |
| September 2010 | Flash Flood | West Fork | - | County Road 240 just north of West Fork was closed due to high water. |
| October 2009 | Flash Flood | West Fork | - | A water rescue was conducted after a motorist became stranded in flood water. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Fork | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down trees. |
| April 1995 | Hail | West Fork | - | An isolated severe thunderstorm produced dime size hail at West Fork. |
| April 1994 | Hail | West Fork | - | Several homes and businesses sustained roof damage. |
| April 2017 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| March 2015 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| September 2009 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| March 2008 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| March 2005 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| February 2001 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Fork | - | no account filed |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Fork | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitkin Corner | 2.8 miles | 17 | |
| Woolsey | 2.9 miles | 17 | |
| Hogeye | 4.2 miles | 16 | |
| Greenland | 4.9 miles | 17 | |
| Brentwood | 6.2 miles | 15 | |
| Onda | 6.8 miles | 16 | |
| Walnut Grove | 6.9 miles | 18 | |
| Black Oak | 7.1 miles | 15 |
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 West Fork | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79344 | 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 81903. 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.








