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Laird, Colorado

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Wray census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80758. It stands on Rush Creek. The Survey maps it on the Laird quadrangle. 46 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,406 feet above sea level.

Laird within Yuma County

Population over time

2 figures

Laird fell from 47 to 46 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
201047
202046-1 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 9 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

3 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Laird between 2011 and 2017, burning under an acre in total. None started naturally. None was 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/undetermined3

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
30 March 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWray Volunteer Fire Department (Yuma County Fire Protection District)UNKNOWN
30 March 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWray Volunteer Fire Department (Yuma County Fire Protection District)UNKNOWN
16 March 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State HeadquartersWRAY

Every fire recorded in Yuma County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Laird: 7 occurrences, 4 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceGravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceGravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceGravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceGravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceGravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Yuma County

Storms near this place

43 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Laird in 43 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 32 hail, 7 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 flash flood. 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 2011Thunderstorm WindLaird$30,000A thunderstorm wind gust destroyed a grain bin at a farmstead.
August 1993HailLaird$5,000Severe thunderstorms rolled across portions of Northeast Colorado, dropping hail up to golfball-size. The hail caused considerable damage to crops and buildings across Phillips and Yuma Counties.
July 1995HailLaird$500Golf ball hail broke windows and damaged siding.
July 2020Flash FloodLaird$100As the heavy rainfall expanded west, so did the flooding. Highway 34 was closed from the state line west to Wray due to flooding. The ball fields on the east side of Wray were also flooded. There was plenty of erosion/damage along the edges of the Republican River. There were also lots of basements flooded (around 15-20 significantly). Damage from the flood waters is unknown at this time. One thing the Wray City Manager wanted to be noted was that there are 6 flood control dams on the south side of the town. These worked perfectly and slowed the water. Had the system failed, the flooding damage would have been much worse.
July 2020FloodLaird$100Areal pictures show the flooding mainly confined to the Republican River valley continuing well into the daylight hours. Fields were flooded along the river, as well as water running over roads. Anything in Wray along the Republican River was flooded. This included parks, buildings, and some streets that didn't have a large capacity for drainage underneath. Based on footage during the daytime, Highway 34 west out of Wray did not have water over it. Damage from the flooding is not know at this time.
May 2025HailLaird-A trained spotter reported the quarter size hail.
June 2025HailLaird-The public estimated ping pong to golf ball size hail.
August 2024HailLaird-Quarter to half dollar sized hail fell for a about two minutes.
May 2023HailLaird-Pea to quarter sized hail observed.
May 2023HailLaird-Public estimated 1 inch diameter hail fell.
July 2023HailLaird-Hail larger than golf balls in size reported via social media at location. Hail broke a vehicle side mirror and a tail light as well as put several dents into the vehicle.
July 2023HailLaird-Golf ball sized hail reported.
May 2020HailLaird-Dime size hail covering the ground reported via social media.
July 2020HailLaird-Public citizen observed hail up to tennis ball in size. Most of the hail was nickel to quarter in size. As hail fell at the location, winds were estimated to have 40 mph gusts.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindLaird-The severe winds blew tree branches down.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindLaird-Public reported very heavy rainfall and a tree blown over. Time of report estimated from Doppler radar. Details of tree unknown, with peak wind speed is estimated.
August 1997HailLaird-Wind speed estimated to 60 mph at Laird.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindLaird-no account filed
July 2020HailLaird-no account filed
July 2020HailLaird-no account filed
June 2008HailLaird-no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindLaird-no account filed
July 2008HailLaird-no account filed
May 2007HailLaird-no account filed
March 2007HailLaird-no account filed
March 2007HailLaird-no account filed
May 2007HailLaird-no account filed
May 2005HailLaird-no account filed
May 2003Thunderstorm WindLaird-no account filed
June 2002HailLaird-no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindLaird-no account filed
March 2000HailLaird-no account filed
June 1999Tornado (F0)Laird-no account filed
June 1999HailLaird-no account filed
June 1999HailLaird-no account filed
June 1999HailLaird-no account filed
June 1999HailLaird-no account filed
June 1999HailLaird-no account filed
June 1999HailLaird-no account filed
May 1998HailLaird-no account filed
August 1998HailLaird-no account filed
May 1996Tornado (F1)Laird-no account filed
July 1995HailLaird-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Yuma 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
Wray6.4 miles9
Robb14.3 miles7
Vernon14.6 miles8
Beecher Island15.1 miles10
Alvin15.6 miles8
Wauneta16.6 miles8
Armel19.7 miles10
Eckley20.6 miles8

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 LairdAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6474047The 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 183040. 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.