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Salem, Georgia

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Salem census division. It lies in ZIP code area 31016. The Survey maps it on the Logtown quadrangle. 307 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 512 feet above sea level.

Salem within Upson County

Population over time

3 figures

Salem fell from 339 to 307 between 2000 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
2000339
2010310-29 (-9%)
2020307-3 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 10 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

156 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 156 fires within 5 miles of Salem between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,288 acres in total. 8 started naturally. 23 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 burning98
Arson/incendiarism23
Equipment and vehicle use14
Natural8
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Recreation and ceremony4
Smoking1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
9 September 2019Debris and open burning8.6 acresGeorgia Forestry CommissionFY2020UPSON004
8 September 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreGeorgia Forestry CommissionFY2017-CRAWFORD-004
30 September 1993Debris and open burning1.2 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
29 September 2019Natural23 acresGeorgia Forestry CommissionFY2020UPSON012
19 September 1993Debris and open burningunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 2003Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
11 September 1993Debris and open burning1.6 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
10 September 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Upson County

Storms near this place

9 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Salem in 9 storm reports between 2015 and 2026: 4 flash flood, 2 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. 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
October 2021Flash FloodSalem$30,000The Emergency Manager reported two culvert washouts along Pleasant Grove Road resulted in its closing between Kendall Road and Logtown Road. Radar estimates indicate that 3 to 6 inches of rain occurred over the area, resulting in the flash flooding.
April 2017LightningSalem$20,000The Upson County Emergency Manager reported a structure fire at a residence on Kendall Drive. Lightning struck a transformer outside the home causing the fire.
December 2015Tornado (EF0)Salem$15,000An NWS storm survey team confirmed an EF-0 tornado, with maximum wind speeds of 80 MPH and a maximum path width of 180 yards, touched down just west of Mt. Carmel Road and traveled .2 miles east northeast, crossing Mt. Carmel Road before lifting. Several trees were snapped or uprooted on either side of Mt. Carmel Road and a small shed was destroyed. [12/24/15: Tornado #1, County #1-1, EF0, Upson, [2015:014].
June 2020Thunderstorm WindSalem$2,000The Upson County Emergency Manager reported trees blown down across the eastern portion of the county from Salem to Yatesville.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindSalem$1,000A tree was downed on Logtown Rd near Bentley Rd.
March 2026Tornado (EF0)Salem-A weak velocity couplet was detected on radar northwest of the intersection of Grays Chapel Rd and Grady Pennyman Rd at 7:20 AM. The storm tracked to the east, with a tornado debris signature (TDS) appearing at 7:24 AM over Grays Chapel Rd. Two trees were uprooted along the road, and four trees were snapped at their tops before |the circulation moved over a densely wooded area. By 7:26 AM, the velocity couplet had weakened and was located over Israel Creek east of Grays Chapel Rd, although the TDS persisted due to lofted debris. The damage in this area was limited, but enough to indicate a brief touchdown. All damage was consistent of EF-0 damage, with maximum winds estimated around 75 mph.
October 2021Flash FloodSalem-The Emergency Manager reported US Highway 80E flooded near Salem Church. Radar estimates indicate that 3 to 5 inches of rain occurred over the area, resulting in the flash flooding.
October 2021Flash FloodSalem-The Emergency Manager reported Mt Carmel Road was closed due to flooding from Wrights Church Creek. Radar estimates indicate that 3 to 8 inches of rain occurred over the area, resulting in the flash flooding.
October 2021Flash FloodSalem-The Emergency Manager reported Bentley Road closed between Kendall Road and Logtown Road due to flash flooding along Kendall Branch. Radar estimates indicate that 3 to 6 inches of rain occurred over the area, resulting in the flash flooding.

Every storm recorded in Upson 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
Birdsong Crossroads5.0 miles12
Logtown6.3 miles10
Redbone Crossroads8.4 miles12
Lincoln Park10.7 miles12
Yatesville11.0 miles10
East Thomaston11.3 miles12
Thomaston11.6 miles12
Blacksboro (historical)12.7 miles12

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 SalemAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1977760The 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 1852876. 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.