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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.

West Fork within Washington County

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

Population over time

3 figures

West 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.

YearPeople Change
20002,042
20102,317+275 (+13%)
20202,331+14 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 17 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

41 since 1998

Regional 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 burning21
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Equipment and vehicle use4
Arson/incendiarism3

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 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 2000Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
8 August 2010Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
7 August 2011Debris and open burning3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
5 August 2011Debris and open burning6.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
30 August 2005Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
25 August 2010Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
14 August 2011Debris and open burning5.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Dr.Ray Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkLimestone, DimensionPast Producer
West Fork Quarry & PlantStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Washington County

Storms near this place

37 since 1994

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2015Flash FloodWest Fork$100,000Several secondary roads were washed out by flood water.
June 2025Tornado (EF1)West Fork$25,000This 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 2026HailWest Fork$15,000Half dollar size hail damaged homes and vehicles.
November 2018Thunderstorm WindWest Fork$15,000Strong thunderstorm wind destroyed an outbuilding and snapped large tree limbs.
March 2019HailWest Fork$15,000no account filed
March 2004Thunderstorm WindWest Fork$10,000Thunderstorm 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 2017Thunderstorm WindWest Fork$2,000Strong thunderstorm wind uprooted a large tree and damaged a barn.
April 2025Flash FloodWest Fork-The southbound on-ramp to I-49 in West Fork was closed by the Arkansas Department of Transportation due to flooding.
June 2019Flash FloodWest Fork-Riverside Park in West Fork was flooded, and nearby homes were evacuated.
June 2015Flash FloodWest Fork-Dye Creek Road was closed due to high water.
May 2015Flash FloodWest Fork-Dye Creek Road was flooded.
May 2015Flash FloodWest Fork-A vehicle was stranded in flood water.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindWest Fork-A large tree was uprooted by strong thunderstorm wind on McGee Street.
March 2012Flash FloodWest Fork-Bridges were under water and closed at Dye Creek Road between Highway 71 and Interstate 540.
September 2010Flash FloodWest Fork-County Road 240 just north of West Fork was closed due to high water.
October 2009Flash FloodWest Fork-A water rescue was conducted after a motorist became stranded in flood water.
May 2005Thunderstorm WindWest Fork-Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down trees.
April 1995HailWest Fork-An isolated severe thunderstorm produced dime size hail at West Fork.
April 1994HailWest Fork-Several homes and businesses sustained roof damage.
April 2017HailWest Fork-no account filed
March 2015HailWest Fork-no account filed
June 2012HailWest Fork-no account filed
September 2009HailWest Fork-no account filed
March 2008HailWest Fork-no account filed
June 2008HailWest Fork-no account filed
June 2008HailWest Fork-no account filed
June 2008HailWest Fork-no account filed
March 2005HailWest Fork-no account filed
May 2003HailWest Fork-no account filed
May 2002HailWest Fork-no account filed
February 2001HailWest Fork-no account filed
April 1996HailWest Fork-no account filed
April 1996HailWest Fork-no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindWest Fork-no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindWest Fork-no account filed
June 1995Thunderstorm WindWest Fork-no account filed
June 1995Thunderstorm WindWest Fork-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Washington 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
Pitkin Corner2.8 miles17
Woolsey2.9 miles17
Hogeye4.2 miles16
Greenland4.9 miles17
Brentwood6.2 miles15
Onda6.8 miles16
Walnut Grove6.9 miles18
Black Oak7.1 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 West ForkAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79344The 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.