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Brighton, Colorado

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Brighton census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80601. It stands on Third Creek. The Survey maps it on the Brighton quadrangle. 40,083 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,984 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Brighton within Adams County

On record in Brighton

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 4 records

Population over time

2 figures

Brighton grew from 33,352 to 40,083 between 2010 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
201033,352
202040,083+6,731 (+20%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 24 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

543 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 543 fires within 5 miles of Brighton between 2010 and 2020, burning about 465 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 12 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined424
Debris and open burning27
Smoking21
Recreation and ceremony18
Equipment and vehicle use15
Arson/incendiarism12
Fireworks9
Natural5
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Railroad operations and maintenance3

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
9 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreGreater Brighton Fire Protection DistrictN/A
8 September 2018Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreGreater Brighton Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
7 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State HeadquartersBRIGHTON
6 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresGreater Brighton Fire Protection DistrictN/A
6 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State HeadquartersN/A
6 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State HeadquartersN/A
6 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreGreater Brighton Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
6 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Adams County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 26 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 26 workings within 5 miles of Brighton: 9 occurrences, 8 producers, 6 unknowns, 3 past producers. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. 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
UnknownClayOccurrence
UnknownClayOccurrence
UnknownClayOccurrence
UnknownClayProducer
UnknownClayProducer
UnknownClayProducer
UnknownClayOccurrence
UnknownClayProducer
Adams Aggregate Inc PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Adams Aggregate Inc PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Adams County

Storms near this place

60 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Brighton in 60 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 36 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 9 tornado, 4 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. 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
September 2011LightningBrighton1 hurtno account filed
August 2008LightningBrighton$20,000no account filed
September 1993Thunderstorm WindBrighton$5,000no account filed
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Numerous trees in town were damaged.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Intense winds snapped tree limbs up to 6 inches in diameter.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Intense winds downed a fence and snapped tree branches up to 3 inches in diameter.
September 2013Flash FloodBrighton-Continuous heavy rainfall produced flash flooding. Floodwaters were reportedly breaking through basement windows west of Brighton.
July 2005Tornado (F0)Brighton-A tornado touched down briefly but did no damage.
October 2004Tornado (F0)Brighton-A small tornado touched down but did no damage.
October 2004Tornado (F1)Brighton-A small tornado touched down and caused extensive damage to a recreational vehicle. A barn was also severely damaged. The roof of the barn was thrown 100 feet while the remaining structure was torn from its foundation. Four llamas in the barn were injured when it collapsed.
October 2004Tornado (F0)Brighton-A small tornado touched down but did no damage.
October 2004Tornado (F0)Brighton-A small tornado touched down but did no damage.
May 2003Tornado (F0)Brighton-A tornado touched down briefly but did no damage.
June 2001Tornado (F0)Brighton-A small tornado touched down but did no damage.
June 2001Tornado (F0)Brighton-A small tornado touched down but did no damage.
July 2000Tornado (F0)Brighton-A small tornado touched down briefly but did no damage.
June 1999LightningBrighton-Lightning sparked an oil tank fire near Brighton.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Dry microburst winds estimated to 70 mph (61 kts) snapped branches 4 inches in diameter. In addition, some road signs in Brighton were twisted and blown down.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Damaging thunderstorm winds associated with a wet microburst ripped the roof off a barn, causing the east side of the structure to collapse. The roof of a nearby utility shed was also ripped off and blown 60 feet away.
May 2023HailBrighton-no account filed
May 2023HailBrighton-no account filed
July 2021HailBrighton-no account filed
July 2021HailBrighton-no account filed
July 2020HailBrighton-no account filed
July 2020Thunderstorm WindBrighton-no account filed
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBrighton-no account filed
June 2018HailBrighton-no account filed
May 2017HailBrighton-no account filed
May 2017HailBrighton-no account filed
May 2017HailBrighton-no account filed
May 2011HailBrighton-no account filed
July 2011HailBrighton-no account filed
June 2010HailBrighton-no account filed
May 2010HailBrighton-no account filed
June 2009HailBrighton-no account filed
June 2008HailBrighton-no account filed
June 2008HailBrighton-no account filed
June 2006HailBrighton-no account filed
April 2005HailBrighton-no account filed
April 2005HailBrighton-no account filed
April 2005HailBrighton-no account filed
May 2005HailBrighton-no account filed
June 2004HailBrighton-no account filed
June 2004HailBrighton-no account filed
August 2004HailBrighton-no account filed
August 2004HailBrighton-no account filed
July 2004HailBrighton-no account filed
April 2003HailBrighton-no account filed
July 2002HailBrighton-no account filed
May 2001HailBrighton-no account filed
May 1998HailBrighton-no account filed
May 1996LightningBrighton-no account filed
July 1996HailBrighton-no account filed
May 1994Thunderstorm WindBrighton-no account filed
May 1994Thunderstorm WindBrighton-no account filed
June 1994HailBrighton-no account filed
August 1994HailBrighton-no account filed
September 1993HailBrighton-no account filed
September 1993HailBrighton-no account filed
September 1993HailBrighton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Adams 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
Todd Creek2.8 miles24
Hi-Land Acres3.0 miles24
Barr Lake3.7 miles24
Henderson5.1 miles24
Eno6.9 miles24
Hazeltine7.0 miles24
Hazeltine Heights7.8 miles24
Eastlake8.6 miles24

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 BrightonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q252949The 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 204736. 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.