Baker, Florida
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1949 and the latest in 1978. It stands in the Baker census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32531. It stands on Gum Springs Branch. The Survey maps it on the Baker quadrangle.
Then and now
1949 to 1978The same ground, surveyed 29 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 13 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.
- 1949 USGS Crestview quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1951 USGS Crestview quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Pensacola quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Pensacola quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Pensacola quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Baker quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Crestview quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
213 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 213 fires within 5 miles of Baker between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,773 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 11 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 | 59 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 57 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 11 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 11 |
| Smoking | 10 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 8 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1997 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 30 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | 1.6 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 3 September 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 17 acres | Florida Forest Service | BONE CREEK (46) |
| 28 September 2008 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | 120 |
| 24 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | PICKENS CIRCLE FIRE - 1116 |
| 24 September 2004 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | SHOE FIRE - 1117 |
| 23 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 acres | Eglin Air Force Base | PINCH |
| 21 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | MEGAN LN (46) |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Baker: 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okaloosa Co. Comm. - South Baker Mine | Clay | Unknown |
Storms near this place
23 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Baker in 23 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 15 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 2 lightning, 2 tornado. The reports record 2 deaths and 14 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1999 | Lightning | Baker | 1 killed, 1 hurt | A fatal lightning strike occurred while 2 men were on a boat on Hurricane Lake 10 miles Northwest of Baker or 6 miles North of Highway 4 off of Beaver Creek Road. One of the occupants was killed while the other was injured. Upon the approach of a storm, the occupants moved the boat to beneath some trees to escape the rain and were struck. |
| July 2017 | Lightning | Baker | 1 killed | A lightning strike killed a camper at the Wilderness Landing campground along the Blackwater River. |
| January 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Baker | 13 hurt, $2,000,000 | A weak tornado touched down along State Highway 4 in Baker near the Post Office. The tornado tracked northeast and tore part of the roof off the Baker School. The winds from the storm funneled into part of the school and peeled sections of the roof off. Kids inside quickly got underneath their desks. Water from the rain fell into the classrooms and caused part of the ceiling to collapse. Thirteen kids suffered minor injuries. At least four classrooms at the school were damaged. The weak tornado continued tracking northeast and damaged several more homes before lifting back into the clouds near Old River Road. |
| January 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $20,000 | no account filed |
| October 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $15,000 | High winds from a line of thunderstorms blew down several trees near Baker. The high winds also caused roof damage to a manufactured home. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $5,000 | Winds estimated at 60 mph downed several powerlines down on State Road 189. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $5,000 | Several sheds were damaged by high winds near the community. |
| August 2000 | Tornado (F0) | Baker | $5,000 | A weak tornado was observed near the community. The tornado only briefly touched down, blowing down one tree and producing other vegitative damage in the area. The weak tornado was captured on video. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $5,000 | Storm spotters reported that high winds blew numerous trees down near the area. |
| October 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $5,000 | Several trees and power lines were blown down around the Baker community. |
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $2,000 | Winds estimated at 60 mph downed a tree on a house on Wadsworth Blvd. |
| January 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $1,500 | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $1,000 | Several trees were blown down near the Baker community. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | $500 | Several trees and power lines were blown down along Highway 4 just west of Baker. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | - | Multiple large trees uprooted/downed in the community of Baker. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | - | High winds downed multiple trees and caused widespread power outages. |
| January 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | - | Trees down near the vicinity of Reeves Road and Griffith Mill Road. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Baker | - | Numerous trees and power lines blown down by severe thunderstorm winds near 60 mph around the Baker area. The heaviest damage was reported on Dairy Road just northeast of Baker, with significant tree damage, two homes with structural damage, and power lines down with the poles snapped. |
| October 2004 | Funnel Cloud | Baker | - | A funnel cloud was observed near Baker. The funnel cloud never touched down and went back into the cloud. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Baker | - | Dime size hail was reported in the Baker community. |
| March 2001 | Hail | Baker | - | no account filed |
| January 1997 | Hail | Baker | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nubbin Ridge | 3.0 miles | 13 | |
| Milligan | 3.8 miles | 13 | |
| Cannon Town | 4.0 miles | 13 | |
| Galliver | 5.2 miles | 16 | |
| Crestview | 6.4 miles | 14 | |
| Kellys Mill | 6.5 miles | 18 | |
| Holt | 6.6 miles | 16 | |
| Silver Springs | 6.9 miles | 14 |
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 Baker | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4849091 | 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 278045. 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.






