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Rocky Ford, Colorado

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Rocky Ford census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81067. The Survey maps it on the Rocky Ford quadrangle. 3,876 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,180 feet above sea level.

Rocky Ford within Otero County

On record in Rocky Ford

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 5 records

Population over time

3 figures

Rocky Ford fell from 4,286 to 3,876 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
20004,286
20103,957-329 (-8%)
20203,876-81 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 14 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

247 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 247 fires within 5 miles of Rocky Ford between 1995 and 2020, burning about 3,156 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 1 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/undetermined184
Recreation and ceremony16
Smoking14
Debris and open burning14
Equipment and vehicle use8
Natural4
Fireworks3
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Arson/incendiarism1

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
5 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRocky Ford Fire DepartmentN/A
28 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRocky Ford Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
26 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRocky Ford Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
24 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named
18 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRocky Ford Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
1 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named
31 August 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRocky Ford Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
31 August 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Otero County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Rocky Ford: 9 unknowns, 4 occurrences, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Dimension. 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
UnknownStone, DimensionOccurrence
UnkStoneUnknown
UnkStoneUnknown
UnkStoneUnknown
Hancock PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Korinek Trout Farm PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Otero County

Storms near this place

54 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rocky Ford in 54 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 38 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 5 heavy rain, 2 flash flood. The reports record 1 death. 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 2005LightningRocky Ford1 killedA 36-year old man was struck and killed by lightning while work outside on a farm.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindRocky Ford$50,000no account filed
August 2004LightningRocky Ford$4,000A lightning strike caused a haystack to catch fire.
July 2024Flash FloodRocky Ford-Flooded intersection at Highway 50 and Steen Ave, in La Junta, began at 8:55pm MDT. Road closed due to high water.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindRocky Ford-Two power poles blow over.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindRocky Ford-Otero county sheriffs office reported numerous trees down across the county.
July 2022Heavy RainRocky Ford-Heavy rainfall of 2.50 inches.
July 2022Heavy RainRocky Ford-Heavy rainfall of 2.54 inches.
July 2022Heavy RainRocky Ford-Heavy rainfall of 2.05 inches.
July 2022Heavy RainRocky Ford-Heavy rainfall of 1.98 inches.
July 2022Heavy RainRocky Ford-Heavy rainfall of 1.51 inches.
May 2021Tornado (EFU)Rocky Ford-Public reported tornado on the ground, that lasted 5 minutes.
June 2019HailRocky Ford-Storm chaser reported nickel hail.
August 2019HailRocky Ford-A report from CoCoRaHS relayed one inch hail was the largest stone found but that it also hailed for 20 straight minutes.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindRocky Ford-One foot diameter branches ripped off a tree.
June 2013HailRocky Ford-Hail ranged in size from quarters to golf balls.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindRocky Ford-Strong thunderstorm winds caused 8 inch diameter tree limbs to go down.
July 1999Flash FloodRocky Ford-Very heavy rain fell in a few hours time from just south of Manzanola to about five miles northwest of Rocky Ford near U.S. Highway 50. The resulting flood closed highway 50 for six hours Saturday morning. Widespread flooding occurred from county roads 11 to 16. Many road washouts were reported and damage occurred to two irrigation canals. A residence was destroyed by two foot deep flood waters. The railroad just south of highway 50 was undermined when the trestle abutments washed away. No firm damage amounts were available as of late September.
July 2023HailRocky Ford-no account filed
July 2023HailRocky Ford-no account filed
August 2017HailRocky Ford-no account filed
May 2016HailRocky Ford-no account filed
May 2016HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2016HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2016HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2016HailRocky Ford-no account filed
August 2015HailRocky Ford-no account filed
August 2015HailRocky Ford-no account filed
July 2014HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2013HailRocky Ford-no account filed
September 2012HailRocky Ford-no account filed
May 2010HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2010HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2010HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2010HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2010HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2010HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2009HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2009HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2007HailRocky Ford-no account filed
August 2007HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2005HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2004HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2004HailRocky Ford-no account filed
May 2003HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 2001HailRocky Ford-no account filed
September 2000Thunderstorm WindRocky Ford-no account filed
July 2000HailRocky Ford-no account filed
May 1999HailRocky Ford-no account filed
May 1999HailRocky Ford-no account filed
May 1998HailRocky Ford-no account filed
July 1996HailRocky Ford-no account filed
August 1996HailRocky Ford-no account filed
June 1995HailRocky Ford-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Otero 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
Fayette3.0 miles14
Roberta4.5 miles18
Hawley4.8 miles18
Vroman5.4 miles14
Swink5.5 miles14
Hays5.5 miles16
Shelton6.4 miles16
Randall8.0 miles16

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 Rocky FordAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2073339The 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 195481. 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.