BlockTowns, Georgia
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1957 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the McRae-Helena census division. It lies in ZIP code area 31055. The Survey maps it on the Scotland quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 9 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1957 USGS Macon quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Macon quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Macon quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1970 USGS Scotland quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1979 USGS Vidalia quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1988 USGS Macon quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
367 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 367 fires within 5 miles of Towns between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,337 acres in total. 27 started naturally. 39 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 burning | 197 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 68 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 39 |
| Natural | 27 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 9 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 9 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2012-TELFAIR-022 |
| 29 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2012-TELFAIR-020 |
| 28 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2012-TELFAIR-019 |
| 28 September 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 28 September 2001 | Natural | 2.6 acres | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2002-TELFAIR-005 |
| 27 September 2001 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2002-WHEELER-012 |
| 26 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | 2.1 acres | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Towns: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Sand Deposit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Alluvium | |
| Unnamed Sand Deposit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Alluvium |
Storms near this place
4 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Towns in 4 storm reports between 2008 and 2023: 1 lightning, 1 tornado, 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2015 | Tornado (EF1) | Towns | $25,000 | A NWS survey team determined that a tornado occurred in southeastern Telfair county. The EF1 tornado with estimated maximum winds around 87 MPH began south of State Highway 134, west of Hugh McBride Road, and travelled .77 miles east northeast before ending along State Highway 134 east of Hugh McBride Road. The tornado snapped or uprooted numerous softwood and hardwood trees and caused structural damage to two center-pivot irrigation systems. No injuries were reported. The Telfair County 911 center reported a funnel cloud visible with this storm further east as it crossed U.S. Highway 341 north of Lumber City. Local law enforcement stopped traffic on the highway as the funnel cloud moved east, however they reported that there was no indication the circulation ever reached the ground and no damage was reported or found in this area. [11/02/15: Tornado #2, County #1-1, EF1, Telfair, 2015:010]. |
| August 2008 | Lightning | Towns | $10,000 | The Telfair County 911 Center reported that lightning ignited a structural fire. No specific information was provided. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Towns | - | Five to six trees reported down near Mount Calvary Church Road and County Road 160, between McRae and Lumber City. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Towns | - | The Telfair County 911 Center reported nickel sized hail between McRae and Lumber City. |
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.
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 333253. 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.