BlockBefore

Inlet Beach, Florida

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1936 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Walton Beaches census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32461. The Survey maps it on the Point Washington quadrangle. It stands 30 feet above sea level.

Inlet Beach within Walton County

Then and now

1936 to 1996

The same ground, surveyed 60 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Inlet Beach, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Inlet Beach, surveyed 1936

Compare 1936 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 17 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

69 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 69 fires within 5 miles of Inlet Beach between 1992 and 2020, burning about 855 acres in total. 19 started naturally. 4 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
Natural19
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Equipment and vehicle use13
Debris and open burning9
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Arson/incendiarism4
Smoking3
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Recreation and ceremony1

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
7 September 1997Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
15 September 1997Equipment and vehicle use60 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
10 September 1997Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
9 August 1994Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
8 August 2000Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
31 August 1997Natural90 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
31 August 1997Natural70 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
31 August 1997Equipment and vehicle use35 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Walton County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Inlet Beach: 1 occurrence, 1 unknown, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Titanium-Heavy Minerals, Zirconium, Sand, 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
Bay-Walton Services, L. C. - Beaches MineSandUnknown
Panama City-Phillips Inlet PlacerTitanium-Heavy Minerals, ZirconiumOccurrenceStaurolite, Kyanite, Zircon, Rutile, Leucoxene, Ilmenite
Unnamed Sand DepositSand and Gravel, ConstructionProspect

Every working recorded in Walton County

Storms near this place

15 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Inlet Beach in 15 storm reports between 1996 and 2021: 4 lightning, 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 rip current, 2 flash flood. The reports record 8 deaths. 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 2003Rip CurrentInlet Beach6 killedAt least 28 people were rescued from rough surf off the Walton County beaches. Six persons drowned. Reported by the Walton County EMA.
July 1996Rip CurrentInlet Beach1 killedno account filed
July 1996Rip CurrentInlet Beach1 killedno account filed
August 2012LightningInlet Beach$1,600,000The South Walton Fire District (SWFD) received a call at 9:00 a.m. CDT reporting a structure fire at 145 Paradise By the Sea Blvd in the Inlet Beach area. Reports from the neighbors indicated that there was an early morning thunderstorm with severe lightning. Sometime close to 5:30 a.m. CDT neighbors stated they witnessed lightning strike near this residence. It wasn't until 3.5 hours later that smoke and flames were reported coming from this 3 story, (est.) 12,000 sq. ft. beach front home. Within minutes of receiving the initial 9-1-1 call, SWFD units arrived on scene and found fire coming from the third floor roof area. Prior to arrival, it was determined that fire had spread throughout the sub-floors making extinguishment difficult. Despite that, SWFD crews were able to minimize the fire damage and bring the scene under control within an hour of the initial call. The residence was valued at an estimated $9.6 million dollars with damage to the structure and contents estimated at $1.6 million dollars. The owners were not home at the time of the fire and there were no injuries to report. The fire was investigated by the SWFD Fire Marshal and the Florida State Fire Marshals Office.
July 2018LightningInlet Beach$25,000A structure fire due to lightning occurred in the Watersound Origins area. Damage was estimated in the $20-30 thousand range as reported by the South Walton Fire District facebook page.
June 2016LightningInlet Beach$10,000Lightning struck a home at 26 Dill Lane with damage to the home reported. Damage was estimated.
August 2012LightningInlet Beach$10,000Lightning caused a fire to a home in Inlet Beach. The fire remained confined to the attic but resulted in significant damage. Monetary damage was estimated.
February 2016Thunderstorm WindInlet Beach$5,000A high tension power line was blown down on Highway 98 near Breakers Street resulting in a large power outage.
November 2014Thunderstorm WindInlet Beach$1,000Power flashes were witnessed near Inlet Beach.
April 2021Thunderstorm WindInlet Beach-The Inlet Beach WeatherSTEM station measured a wind gust of 64 mph.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindInlet Beach-Wind gusts were estimated near 60 mph in the Inlet Beach area.
June 2017FloodInlet Beach-Beach access was washed out at 264 South Wall Street.
July 2013Flash FloodInlet Beach-Water was flowing over Church Street at an estimated depth of 8-10 inches just north of U.S. Highway 98. Water was also reported over about a dozen other roads in Walton via the Walton Alert facebook page.
May 2012Funnel CloudInlet Beach-A rapidly rotating wall cloud was observed with a brief, rain-wrapped funnel cloud.
January 2010Flash FloodInlet Beach-Heavy rain produced flash flooding over many areas across northwest FL and the adjacent panhandle. Wakulla county reported 6-7 inches of rain during the mid to late morning, with 3-6 inches across most of the region beginning late Wednesday night (Jan. 20th). There were widespread reports of flooded roadways, with water in some homes in Wakulla county. FSU campus in Tallahassee reported 50-60 cars flooded. Two hikers were stranded and clinging to trees along the Florida Trail near Freeport in Walton county.

Every storm recorded in Walton 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
Rosemary Beach0.5 miles17
Seacrest Beach0.8 miles17
Alys Beach1.3 miles17
Seacrest1.9 miles17
Seagrove Beach7.1 miles17
Seaside7.7 miles17
Watercolor7.9 miles17
Choctaw8.1 miles17

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 Inlet BeachAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6034920The 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 284551. 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.