Brainard, Iowa
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Pleasant Valley Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52141. The Survey maps it on the Elgin quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 12 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.
- 1901 USGS Oelwein quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1959 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:24000
- 1976 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Oelwein quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
15 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Brainard between 2006 and 2019, burning about 231 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.5 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 April 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 April 2019 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 18 April 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 15 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 11 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 12 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 12 workings within 5 miles of Brainard: 7 past producers, 3 producers, 2 unknowns. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baird Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Clermont Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Durscher Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Houg Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Mc Donough Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Miller Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Nuttins Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Patterson Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
3 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Brainard in 3 storm reports between 2011 and 2014: 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brainard | $60,000 | A cattle barn was blown down north of Wadena with approximately 150 head of cattle trapped in the debris. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brainard | $15,000 | A swath of wind damage was found northwest of Elgin where several trees were blown down. A barn was also pushed over and a silo was damaged by the high winds. |
| May 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Brainard | $10,000 | This was the second tornado to affect Fayette County. It was only in the ground for a couple of minutes as it crossed over County Road B64 between West Union and Elgin. For the short time the tornado was on the ground, it caused some roofing damage to a home and barn and snapped off several trees. |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illyria | 4.3 miles | 12 | |
| Elgin | 4.4 miles | 12 | |
| Lima | 4.8 miles | 12 | |
| Albany | 5.3 miles | 12 | |
| Clermont | 5.7 miles | 11 | |
| West Union | 5.9 miles | 12 | |
| Dover Mills (historical) | 6.2 miles | 11 | |
| Wadena | 6.6 miles | 12 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 454804. 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.






