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Lake Placid, Florida

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Lake Placid census division. It lies in ZIP code area 33852. The Survey maps it on the Lake Placid quadrangle. 2,360 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 102 feet above sea level.

Lake Placid within Highlands County

Then and now

1952 to 1988

The same ground, surveyed 36 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Lake Placid, surveyed 1988
Topographic sheet of Lake Placid, surveyed 1952

Compare 1952 against another survey:

On record in Lake Placid

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Lake Placid grew from 2,223 to 2,360 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
20102,223
20202,360+137 (+6%)

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

499 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 499 fires within 5 miles of Lake Placid between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,881 acres in total. 51 started naturally. 88 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
Railroad operations and maintenance121
Arson/incendiarism88
Debris and open burning60
Natural51
Equipment and vehicle use50
Misuse of fire by a minor34
Missing data/not specified/undetermined31
Recreation and ceremony23
Power generation/transmission/distribution20
Smoking18
Fireworks3

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 1996Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
21 September 2011Debris and open burning2.0 acresFlorida Forest ServiceDASHER (28)
21 September 2010Arson/incendiarism4.0 acresFlorida Forest Service(HI) HARVEY (499)
20 September 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreFlorida Forest Service956
20 September 1996Railroad operations and maintenance1.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
18 September 2009Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreFlorida Forest Service(HI) ANTHROP (0701)
17 September 2005Debris and open burning3.5 acresFlorida Forest ServiceHI-HUMMER FIRE-1193
15 September 2007Natural2.0 acresFlorida Forest Service(HI) DRUMMOND (1182)

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Highlands County

Storms near this place

32 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lake Placid in 32 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 14 thunderstorm wind, 13 hail, 3 tornado, 1 wildfire. The reports record 1 injury. 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
October 2024Tornado (EF2)Lake Placid1 hurt, $500,000Tornado estimated to have begun near the southeastern shore of|Lake Clay before moving north-northwest across the lake and|entering the Tropical Harbor Mobile Home community situated along|the northern shore of the lake. Approximately 20 to 30 units|suffered damage, primarily consisting of carports being peeled|off or removed, along with various degrees of roof, carport and|patio damage. A few units suffered partial wall collapses as a|result of the roof being compromised, with 1 injury as a result|when a woman sheltering inside her bedroom was injured by a|collapsing exterior wall. One unit was found to have been|displaced approximately one foot off its supports, along with its|roof mostly removed and a few walls collapsed. A number of large|limbs were felled in the community as well. The tornado continued|to track north-northwest across unpopulated areas beyond the|mobile home park, then across a solar farm, before likely|dissipating near the southern shore of Lake Apthorpe. Maximum estimated winds were 130 mph.
May 2009LightningLake Placid$187,000A restaurant was completely destroyed by a lightning induced fire. The market value of the building was $132,000 while the contents were estimated at $65,000.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$100,000Thunderstorm winds ripped off large segments of a dairy farm roof and damaged several smaller out buildings on Southwest Ruck's Dairy Road near State Road 70, six miles southeast of Lake Placid.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$50,000The Highlands County Sheriffs Department reported that thunderstorm winds downed several large trees in and around Lake Placid.
September 2000Tornado (F0)Lake Placid$25,000A fast moving tornado, associated with an outer rainband of Hurricane Gordon, was observed to sporadically touch down by a Skywarn Spotter in Lake Placid. The tornado downed a few trees, toppled power lines and snapped several branches in Lake Placid before it continued to move north northwest over rural semi-wooded western Highlands county. The tornado was last observed at Highlands Hammock State Park where it touched down and destroyed a ranger outhouse before it receded and dissipated.
January 2016Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$20,000A local newspaper reported damage to a few homes near H.L Bishop Park. One home had their lanai ripped off the home. Another resident had a few magnolia trees down in the yard while another had a tree fall through her bedroom window.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$10,000The Highlands County Emergency Management reported that thunderstorm winds downed several large trees and damaged a fence near the intersection of Lake June Road and Grace Avenue near the south shore of Lake June.
April 2019Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$5,000A large tree was uprooted in the Leisure Lake subdivision of Placid Lakes.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$5,000The Highlands County Sheriffs office reported numerous downed power lines in Lake Placid.
April 1999Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees and toppled a few sheds one quarter mile west of U.S. Highway 27 near the north shore of Lake June.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees and branches in Sebring.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$2,000A few trees and street signs were blown down along Lake June Road in Lake Placid.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$2,000The Highlands County Emergency Management reported that thunderstorm winds uprooted a large tree onto a house which damaged a corner of its roof in Lake Placid.
July 1995Tornado (F0)Lake Placid$2,000A short-lived tornado caused minor damage to two homes in the Placid Lakes subdivision. Also, fences were blown down, shingles and screens were blown away, a storage shed was destroyed, and a mailbox was blown over by the tornadic winds.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$2,000Thunderstorm winds damaged several pool and porch screen enclosures, at the Placid Lakes subdivision five miles southwest of Lake Placid. Also, solar panels were blown off a roof in the subdivision. In Lake Placid, two large trees at least two-feet in diameter were downed by thunderstorm winds.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$1,000Highlands County 911 Call Center reported railroad crossing gates knocked down onto a road due to strong thunderstorm wind gusts.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindLake Placid$1,000A large tree branch broke off and fell onto a mobile home near the intersection of Lagrow Road and Lake Clay Drive.
April 2015HailLake Placid-Pictures and video were received via social media of quarter to golf ball size hail falling in Lake Placid.
April 2015HailLake Placid-The Highlands County Emergency Manager relayed numerous reports of quarter size hail in downtown Lake Placid.
May 2009HailLake Placid-Penny size hail was reported in Lake Placid.
June 2008HailLake Placid-Penny to nickel size hail was reported near US Highway 27 in Placid Lakes.
June 2001HailLake Placid-Dime sized hail was reported by a Skywarn Spotter in the Leisure Lakes subdivision five miles northwest of Lake Placid.
April 2000WildfireLake Placid-Wildfires burned nearly 160 acres of brush and scrub trees in Lake Placid.
May 1999HailLake Placid-Dime sized hail was reported by the Florida highway patrol between U.S. Highway 27 and Lake June.
May 1999HailLake Placid-Nickel sized hail was reported by the Fire Department in Leisure Lakes along County Road 621.
August 1999HailLake Placid-Quarter to dime sized hail was reported near Lake Placid by the Highlands County Emergency Management and at the Archbald Biological Station along U.S. Highway 27 south of State Road 70.
April 1999HailLake Placid-Quarter sized hail fell in the Lake Blue Estates along U.S. Highway 27 in Lake Placid.
August 1998HailLake Placid-Golfball sized hail was reported in Lake Placid by the Highlands County Sheriffs Department.
February 1993Thunderstorm WindLake Placid-Dime-size hail fell. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 70 mph.
February 1993HailLake Placid-Dime-size hail fell. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 70 mph.
May 2005HailLake Placid-no account filed
May 1998HailLake Placid-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Highlands 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
Sylvan Shores2.1 miles14
Highlands Park Estates2.8 miles14
Placid Lakes4.3 miles13
Parker Island4.8 miles13
Sunvale5.2 miles14
Hen Scratch5.8 miles13
Childs5.8 miles13
Bairs Den6.1 miles13

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 Lake PlacidAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1986499The 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 285272. 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.

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.