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Compass Lake, Florida

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Alford census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32420. It stands on Sewell Branch. The Survey maps it on the Compass Lake quadrangle.

Compass Lake within Jackson County

Then and now

1952 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 42 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Compass Lake, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Compass Lake, surveyed 1952

Compare 1952 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 15 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

222 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 222 fires within 5 miles of Compass Lake between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,494 acres in total. 14 started naturally. 16 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 burning85
Railroad operations and maintenance30
Missing data/not specified/undetermined22
Arson/incendiarism16
Equipment and vehicle use15
Natural14
Other causes11
Recreation and ceremony10
Smoking10
Misuse of fire by a minor6
Power generation/transmission/distribution3

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
6 September 2014Other causesunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceHIGHLAND (32)
30 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined7.0 acresFlorida Forest ServiceTOLLIVER RD (03)
23 September 1999Railroad operations and maintenance6.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
21 September 2019Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresFlorida Forest ServicePINE LANE ROAD (07)
2 September 1999Smokingunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
18 September 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceCOMPASS LAKE DR. (32)
17 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresFlorida Forest Service67/WAXMANSKI-0954
1 September 1993Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jackson County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Compass Lake: 4 unknowns, 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Every working recorded in Jackson County

Storms near this place

9 since 2004

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Compass Lake in 9 storm reports between 2004 and 2025: 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 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
January 2024Tornado (EF1)Compass Lake$5,000This tornado touched down in far northeast Bay county, travelled through far northwest Calhoun county, and ended in Jackson county. The Bay county portion of the tornado is rated EF0. The Calhoun and Jackson county portions of the tornado are rated EF1 with max winds estimated at 90 mph. The tornado began in northeastern Bay county where it touched down in a wooded area between US 231 and NW County road 274 snapping several trees. Multiple trees along NW County road 167 were snapped or uprooted. The track continued to the northeast into Jackson county where it crossed through forested land before crossing Freeman Road. The tornado continued through another wooded area before moving parallel with Grand Mesa Avenue where several trees were uprooted or snapped. The tornado then continued through another wooded area before crossing Varsey Lane where it damaged some small outbuilding sheds as well as snapped a few trees. The tornado continued to track parallel to Varsey Lane to the northeast before snapping tree tops along its path before lifting just beyond Celestial Lane in another wooded area. The tornado reached its maximum width of approximately 450 yards as well as its maximum intensity as it crossed NW county road 167 with the most widespread tree damage observed at this point.
April 2015Flash FloodCompass Lake$5,000Portions of City Square Road were washed out between Highway 231 and Lakepoint Road. Damage was estimated.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCompass Lake$2,000A downed tree and power line was reported in the Compass Lake area.
January 2024Thunderstorm WindCompass Lake$2,000Trees were blown down with power lines on Freeman Road and Highway 231.
December 2022Thunderstorm WindCompass Lake$2,000A power outage due to strong thunderstorm winds affected 45 customers near Compass Lake.
January 2024Thunderstorm WindCompass Lake-Two trees were blown down and blocking Nortek Blvd.
December 2016FloodCompass Lake-Freeman Road at the west end was flooded and closed due to a long duration of moderate to heavy rainfall.
April 2004HailCompass Lake-Penny size hail reported by the Jackson County Sheriff.
June 2014HailCompass Lake-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jackson 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
Round Lake4.1 miles15
Kent Mill5.6 miles15
Alford7.0 miles15
Steele City9.1 miles15
Kynesville9.8 miles12
Sink Creek12.9 miles13
Rock Creek13.0 miles13
Simsville13.1 miles13

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 280688. 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.