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Girard, Georgia

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1920 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Girard census division. It lies in ZIP code area 30426. The Survey maps it on the Girard quadrangle. 184 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 240 feet above sea level.

Girard within Burke County

On record in Girard

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Girard grew from 156 to 184 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
2010156
2020184+28 (+18%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 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

242 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 242 fires within 5 miles of Girard between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,792 acres in total. 8 started naturally. 70 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 burning136
Arson/incendiarism70
Missing data/not specified/undetermined10
Natural8
Smoking6
Equipment and vehicle use6
Misuse of fire by a minor5
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
29 September 2017Arson/incendiarism4.7 acresGeorgia Forestry CommissionFY2018-BURKE-007
29 September 2013Debris and open burning13 acresGeorgia Forestry CommissionFY2014-BURKE-004
29 September 1993Debris and open burning6.5 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
2 September 2009Equipment and vehicle use7.2 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
15 September 1992Debris and open burningunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
14 September 1996Debris and open burning2.3 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
9 August 2001Debris and open burning4.0 acresGeorgia Forestry CommissionFY2002-BURKE-006
9 August 1992Debris and open burning5.5 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Burke County

Storms near this place

23 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Girard in 23 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 17 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 2 tornado. 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
July 2000Thunderstorm WindGirard1 hurtEM reported roof torn off trailer, trees down, and a shed blown onto a vehicle slightly injuring one person on River rd.
March 2013Thunderstorm WindGirard$6,000DOT reported several trees down around the Gerard area.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindGirard$1,000Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees, some of which fell on power lines, causing power outages.
March 2025Tornado (EF0)Girard-A National Weather Service storm survey determined that one of two close proximity EF-0 tornadoes touched down east of Girard, GA with peak wind speeds of 80 mph. The northernmost tornado began near the intersection of Stoney Bluff Road and Thankful Church Road where it snapped several pine trees. The tornado then continued northeast into an inaccessible heavily wooded area, before snapping additional pine trees along River Road. Given a lack of access, this tornado is assumed to have dissipated just prior to reaching the Savannah River.
March 2025Tornado (EF0)Girard-National Weather Service storm survey determined one of two close proximity tornadoes touched down east Girard. The southern most of these two tornadoes began along Royal Road just north of Stoney Bluff Road causing minor tree damage. Moving northeast, the tornado caused shingle damage to a residence followed by additional tree damage along Royal Road. Given a lack of access, this tornado is assumed to have dissipated just prior to reaching the Savannah River.
January 2024Thunderstorm WindGirard-Several trees were downed on Creek Rd partially blocking the road.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindGirard-Plant Vogtle employees reported several trees fell on the power plant property near the Savannah River.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindGirard-Burke Co dispatch reported a tree down in Girard. Time estimated.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindGirard-Numerous trees were downed in Girard. Time estimated.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindGirard-Tree down on Millhouse Rd between Sardis and Girard. Time estimated.
May 2016HailGirard-Reported dime to penny size hail on Griffin Landing Road.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindGirard-Reported trees and power lines down at Claxton Road, Buck Lane and Creek Road in the Girard area.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindGirard-Sheriff Dispatch reported trees down along River Road.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindGirard-Sheriff Dispatch reported trees down on Vine Road near Girard.
May 2008HailGirard-Fire department reported golf ball size hail.
May 2008HailGirard-Fire department reported nickel size hail.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindGirard-DOT reported several trees down in the Girard to Sardis area on secondary roads.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindGirard-Girard Fire Dept. reported trees down on Millhaven and Stoney Bluff roads.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindGirard-Highway Dept. reported a couple of trees down on Claxton road near Girard.
December 2005HailGirard-Public reported nickel size hail.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindGirard-Highway dept. and Post Office reported trees down in Girard out to 8 miles east of Girard to the county line.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindGirard-Highway Dept reported some trees down on Vine road near Girard.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindGirard-Post Office reported trees down on Sweetwater road.

Every storm recorded in Burke 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
Sardis5.1 miles15
Murray Hill5.6 miles17
Old Sardis6.0 miles15
Hills Store6.1 miles16
Bill Davis (historical)6.1 miles15
Telfair Woods7.0 miles16
Rock Fence Crossroads7.2 miles16
Hancock Landing8.7 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 GirardAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2188335The 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 356019. 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.