James, Iowa
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Hungerford Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51108. The Survey maps it on the James quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 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.
- 1955 USGS Sioux City quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Sioux City quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Sioux City quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS James quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1986 USGS Sioux City North quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS James quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
18 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 18 fires within 5 miles of James between 2006 and 2014, burning about 108 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 | 7 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 27 September 2012 | Smoking | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 25 September 2012 | Smoking | 6.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 19 September 2012 | Smoking | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 10 August 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 3 May 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 1509 110TH ST., SIOUX CITY, IA 51108, IA |
| 30 March 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 1547 110TH ST., SIOUX CITY, IA |
| 28 March 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 1550 110TH ST., IOWA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of James: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Corwin Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Floyd S&G | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
11 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names James in 11 storm reports between 2001 and 2024: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 3 flood, 1 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | James | 1 hurt, $50,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage. A large tree was blown onto a car, causing a minor injury to the occupant. |
| March 2019 | Flood | James | $2,260,000 | Up to 25 gravel roads were under water across Plymouth County. Other flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges. |
| June 2024 | Flood | James | $1,580,000 | Rainfall amounts across Plymouth County from June 20-22 ranged from only a few hundredths across southern areas to around 2 inches across northern areas. Farther north and upstream, 6 to 10 inches of rain fell across portions of southeast South Dakota and northwest Iowa, with locally higher amounts near 12 inches. This rainfall resulted in major to record flooding along the Big Sioux and Floyd Rivers and extensive overland flooding along the adjoining flood plain. ||During peak flooding, areas between the Big Sioux River and Iowa Highway 12 were evacuated. The Willow Creek Campground in Le Mars was also evacuated. There were at least two water rescues, including 14 individuals. County-wide, 47 individual households reported flood damage at an estimated cost of 275 thousand dollars. ||Numerous county roads were impacted by flood waters and closed; the most significant being Iowa Highway 12 and the bridge outside of Akron that crosses the Big Sioux River into South Dakota. The communities of Westfield and Le Mars experienced the greatest impacts with damages to their wastewater treatment plants. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure to be 1.3 million dollars.||For additional information on river flooding, please see other flood entries for Plymouth County. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | James | - | Thunderstorm winds destroyed a horse lean-to and injured the horse inside. Several tree limbs were also broken. |
| June 2019 | Flood | James | - | During crop planting season, prolonged flooding led to the loss of or inability to plant crops across the area. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | James | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down branches up to 4 inches in diameter. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | James | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts to 60 mph were accompanied by pea size hail. |
| May 2002 | Flash Flood | James | - | A two mile stretch of highway K22 was flooded after heavy rain. Debris was reported floating over the road. |
| July 2006 | Hail | James | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | James | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | James | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinton | 3.8 miles | 9 | |
| Wren | 5.0 miles | 9 | |
| Yeomans | 5.2 miles | 12 | |
| Potosia | 6.6 miles | 9 | |
| Brookdale (historical) | 7.0 miles | 12 | |
| Neptune | 10.4 miles | 10 | |
| Merrill | 10.5 miles | 10 | |
| Plymouth (historical) | 12.2 miles | 10 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 457910. 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.





