Willow Creek, Indiana
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Portage Township. It lies in ZIP code area 46368. It stands on Crisman Ditch. The Survey maps it on the Portage quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 19 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.
- 1934 USGS Porter quadrangle1:48000
- 1940 USGS Porter quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1953 USGS Garyton quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Portage quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1968 USGS Portage quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1980 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS Portage quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
8,499 words on this townshipCounties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : Historical and Biographical, published 1882; History of Porter County, Indiana : a Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its Principal Interests, published 1912 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.
The chapter on Portage Township covers the township.
Read the chapter on Portage Township - 8,499 words.
Fires near this place
583 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 583 fires within 5 miles of Willow Creek between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,453 acres in total. 16 started naturally. 68 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 139 |
| Debris and open burning | 86 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 68 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 39 |
| Fireworks | 39 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 22 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 21 |
| Natural | 16 |
| Smoking | 8 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Other causes | 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 September 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | FLEA2 |
| 6 September 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | RAIL FIRE |
| 6 September 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | NORTH |
| 5 September 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | MISSEDFIRE |
| 4 September 2018 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.0 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | MILL |
| 30 September 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.2 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | CAN |
| 27 September 1997 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | PAINT |
| 26 September 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.1 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | DIAMOND |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Willow Creek: 3 past producers, 1 producer. 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box Sand Co Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Crisman Sand Company | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Lorenz Brothers Pit Number 1 | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Zehner Pit | Clay | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
5 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Willow Creek in 5 storm reports between 2009 and 2020: 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willow Creek | - | A ten inch diameter tree limb was blown down on Lute Road in Portage. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willow Creek | - | Powerlines were blown down in Portage. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willow Creek | - | A large pine tree was blown down on Stone Avenue just west of Willowcreek Road. |
| September 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willow Creek | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph with small tree limbs blown down on Lute Road. |
| January 2013 | Hail | Willow Creek | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crisman | 0.5 miles | 19 | |
| Woodland Village | 0.6 miles | 19 | |
| Portage | 0.8 miles | 19 | |
| Garyton | 1.8 miles | 19 | |
| Salt Creek Estates | 2.1 miles | 19 | |
| McCool | 2.2 miles | 19 | |
| Ogden Dunes | 2.5 miles | 19 | |
| Pleasant Valley | 2.6 miles | 19 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 446099. 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.








