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Polk City, Florida

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1944 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the Haines City census division. It lies in ZIP code area 33868. The Survey maps it on the Polk City quadrangle. 2,713 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 171 feet above sea level.

Polk City within Polk County

Then and now

1944 to 1979

The same ground, surveyed 35 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Polk City, surveyed 1979
Topographic sheet of Polk City, surveyed 1944

Compare 1944 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Polk City grew from 1,562 to 2,713 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
20101,562
20202,713+1,151 (+74%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 11 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

231 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 231 fires within 5 miles of Polk City between 1992 and 2020, burning about 12,357 acres in total. 37 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
Railroad operations and maintenance58
Debris and open burning46
Missing data/not specified/undetermined37
Natural37
Equipment and vehicle use22
Arson/incendiarism11
Misuse of fire by a minor10
Smoking4
Recreation and ceremony4
Power generation/transmission/distribution2

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 2007Debris and open burning98 acresFlorida Forest Service53 SOUTH MATTIE MARSH
25 September 1992Railroad operations and maintenance1.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
18 September 1997Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreFlorida Forest Servicenot named
3 August 1993Natural3.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
28 August 2020Natural5.0 acresFlorida Forest ServiceRESEARCH WAY (53)
24 August 2007Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreFlorida Forest Service53 PARKWAY
20 August 2000Railroad operations and maintenance15 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
18 August 2007Debris and open burning2.0 acresFlorida Forest Service53 EPICENTER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Polk County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Polk City: 3 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Sand. 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
Polk City Clay PitClayPast Producer
Standard Sand and Silica - Polk City MineSandProducer
No. 2 MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Polk City MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Polk City MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Polk County

Storms near this place

19 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Polk City in 19 storm reports between 1993 and 2018: 9 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 lightning, 1 tornado. The reports record 1 death and 3 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1998LightningPolk City1 killed, 2 hurtUnder partial sunshine, sideflash from a lightning bolt of a distant thunderstorm struck and killed a 47 year old male, injured a 27 year old male and a 20 year female while they stood within 15 feet of a seven foot tall wooden pole on the 300 block of West Fussell Road north of Polk City. The lightning bolt struck the pole which was part of a pole barn under construction next to a 30 foot tall tree.The lightning strike blew off the boots of the injured female and knocked to the ground the 27 year old injured male.
June 2015LightningPolk City1 hurt, $10,000A broadcast media outlet reported that a car in one of the east bound lanes of Interstate 4 was apparently struck by lightning near Polk City. The driver reported two of the air bags were deployed, the glove box popped open, and power shut down to the car at the time of a bright flash during a thunderstorm. Several burn marks were later found on the car. The driver suffered bruises to her ribcage from the airbags.
August 1999Thunderstorm WindPolk City$100,000Skywarn Spotters and Bay News Nine Cable of Tampa reported that thunderstorms caused scattered roof, carport, lanai, glass and tree damage to several homes and businesses across northern and eastern Polk county.
March 1993Thunderstorm WindPolk City$50,000Downburst winds destroyed a barn and damaged a house roof.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindPolk City$25,000Thunderstorm winds damaged the roof of a carport and tore down screen walls of the lanai of a home in Polk City. A few commercial buildings received roof damage from the thunderstorm wind which also downed telephone poles and lines.
May 1997Thunderstorm WindPolk City$12,000Thunderstorm winds damaged the roofs of a couple of homes in Polk City.
May 1997Thunderstorm WindPolk City$10,000Thunderstorm winds ripped off the roof of a mobile home on Sonora Road near State Road 557-A.
June 1995Tornado (F0)Polk City$10,000Tornado touchdowns damaged mobile homes, and downed trees and power lines near Polk City. Tornado touchdown reported near Bartow but caused no damage.
November 2018Thunderstorm WindPolk City$5,000A local amateur radio operator had the roof off of his mobile home blown off.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindPolk City$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed trees and powerlines in rural northeast Polk County.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindPolk City$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed trees and blew the roof off a mobile home.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindPolk City$3,000Thunderstorm winds knocked down several trees and numerous branches. One tree fell onto a home on the 400 block of Honeybee Lane. At least one car port and one metal shed were destroyed.
March 2001HailPolk City-Golfball to dime sized hail was reported by Skywarn Spotters from Haines City to Polk City in northern Polk county.
May 1999HailPolk City-The public reported quarter sized hail along State Road 33 in Polk City through Pinellas Park, Florida cable station Bay News Nine.
May 1999HailPolk City-Nickel sized hail was reported by the public through St Petersburg, Florida television station WTSP.
June 1998HailPolk City-Dimed sized hail was reported near State Road 544 and County Road 655 by a Skywarn Spotter.
February 1998HailPolk City-Nickel sized hail was observed in Polk City along State Road 33.
June 2004HailPolk City-no account filed
February 2001WildfirePolk City-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Polk 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
Orangedale4.6 miles12
Fox Town5.8 miles12
Lynchburg7.5 miles13
Holiday Manor7.5 miles12
Fussells Corner7.9 miles13
Providence8.2 miles12
Lake Alfred8.2 miles12
Auburndale8.3 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 Polk CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q941420The 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 289150. 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.