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Brighton, Iowa

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1958 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Brighton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52540. The Survey maps it on the Brighton quadrangle. 600 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 755 feet above sea level.

Brighton within Washington County

Population over time

2 figures

Brighton fell from 652 to 600 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
2010652
2020600-52 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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

47 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 47 fires within 5 miles of Brighton between 2008 and 2020, burning about 344 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 burning28
Missing data/not specified/undetermined14
Equipment and vehicle use3
Smoking1
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
4 July 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 June 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 May 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resources1384 HWY 1 & HWY 78, BRIGHTON, IOWA, IOWA
29 May 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
10 May 2018Debris and open burning25 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 April 2014Debris and open burning6.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 April 2015Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 April 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Brighton: 4 past producers. None of them still produces. 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Anderson QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Old Brighton QuarriesStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Slater QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Washington County

Storms near this place

31 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Brighton in 31 storm reports between 1997 and 2026: 21 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 1 flood. 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
August 2003HailBrighton$150,000Lasted 20 minutes
May 2003Thunderstorm WindBrighton$100,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindBrighton$5,000Barn blown down along with numerous trees.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindBrighton$3,000Large limbs down
July 2015Thunderstorm WindBrighton$2,000Several small trees and branches were down in the streets of Brighton. Some smaller branches were of unknown diameter were down in streets. Winds were estimated at 60 MPH. This was a delayed report with the time estimated from local radar data.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindBrighton$2,000A few 20 to 25 inch diameter trees were uprooted. Roof damage to a structure was reported. Numerous tree branches up to 10 inches in diameter were down. This was a delayed report with time estimated from 720 to 740 PM.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindBrighton$1,000Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some three inch diameter tree limbs in Brighton, IA around 1240 am CDT September 1/1140 pm CST August 31. The soffit on a neighbor's house was also damaged.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Machine shed heavily damaged. The door was blown off and took down a power pole and lines. Time estimated based off radar.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Power poles reported down in Brighton Iowa.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindBrighton-A trained spotter shared a photo of a tree snapped near the base. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindBrighton-A large tree limb was blown down. Time estimated from radar data.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Large tree branches blown down. The time was estimated by radar data.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBrighton-A trained spotter reported that there was a large tree down across West Washington Street in town. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
May 2023Thunderstorm WindBrighton-There was a 12 inch diameter tree that was blown down. Time was estimated by radar.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindBrighton-A 5 inch diameter tree limb was blown down.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindBrighton-A trained spotter reported that trees and power lines were down on railroad street.
May 2018HailBrighton-A trained spotter reported dime to nickel sized hail.
May 2014HailBrighton-Golf ball sized hail fell in Brighton, IA for over 4 minutes from 343 pm to 347 pm CDT May 11.
May 2013FloodBrighton-Heavy rain during the last week of May caused a rapid rise on the Skunk River to the north of Brighton. The river rose above the major flood stage of 18 feet early in the morning of the 29th and remained above major flood stage through the 30th before falling below flood stage on the morning of the 31st.
March 2009HailBrighton-A trained spotter reported quarter size hail near Brighton.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Wind gusts estimated to be at least 70 mph pushed a parked car backwards and blew several trees over about 2 miles northeast of Pleasant Plain, IA around 442 pm June 19. The car was pointed into the wind.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Wind gusts estimated to be 70 to 80 mph flattened a three foot tall hay field near Brighton, IA at 7:58 pm June 8.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew down several large tree branches in Brighton, IA at 8:00 pm June 8.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some tree branches in Brighton, IA around 300 am August 5. A power outage was also observed.
July 2007HailBrighton-Golf ball size hail and larger fell in town.
March 2006HailBrighton-dime to nickel sized hail
June 1997Thunderstorm WindBrighton-Trees and power lines downed.
April 2014HailBrighton-no account filed
April 2003HailBrighton-no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindBrighton-no account filed
May 1998HailBrighton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Washington 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
Grace Hill6.2 miles7
Eureka (historical)6.4 miles7
Rubio7.0 miles7
Titu7.1 miles7
Noble10.6 miles7
Washington10.9 miles7
West Chester11.3 miles7
Havre12.4 miles7

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 BrightonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1933738The 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 454825. 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.