BlockBefore

Bidwell, Iowa

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1982. It stands in Polk Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52501. The Survey maps it on the Chillicothe quadrangle.

Bidwell within Wapello County

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 7 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

9 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Bidwell between 2002 and 2020, burning about 98 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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 burning4
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
4 August 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
27 May 2018Railroad operations and maintenance1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
26 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
26 April 2018Debris and open burning4.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 March 2020Debris and open burning80 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 March 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
16 October 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
30 January 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Wapello County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Bidwell: 10 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Zinc, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, Dimension, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
W. Ottumwa SandSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
South Avery Creek QuarryLimestone, DimensionPast Producer
UnknownLimestone, DimensionPast Producer
Dudley QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Stewart QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Wagner QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Drill HoleZincPast ProducerSphalerite
Drill HoleZincPast ProducerSphalerite
Drill HoleZincPast ProducerSphalerite
Drill HoleZincPast ProducerSphalerite

Every working recorded in Wapello County

Storms near this place

4 since 2013

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bidwell in 4 storm reports between 2013 and 2016: 1 flash flood, 1 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. 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
April 2014Thunderstorm WindBidwell$100,000Major structural damage to at least one farmstead. Roofs were blown off of outbuildings, damage to homestead roof and porch as well. Many 12-18 inch diameter trees were snapped.
May 2013Flash FloodBidwell$100,000Flood damage to the railroad tracks near 87th St and Highway 34.
August 2016Heavy RainBidwell-Trained spotter reported heavy rainfall of 3 inches since 5am this morning, and around an inch in the last 30 minutes.
April 2014Funnel CloudBidwell-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wapello 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
Willard2.8 miles7
Munterville4.5 miles7
Chillicothe4.6 miles7
Dudley5.5 miles7
Ottumwa Junction5.6 miles9
Keb (historical)6.1 miles9
Phillips6.4 miles9
Blakesburg6.4 miles8

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 464463. 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.