BlockBefore

Bestwall, Kansas

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Blue Rapids City Township. It lies in ZIP code area 66411. The Survey maps it on the Blue Rapids quadrangle.

Bestwall within Marshall County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 15 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 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Bestwall between 1996 and 2020, burning about 2,349 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/undetermined7
Debris and open burning2

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
9 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
3 May 2017Debris and open burning2.0 acresMarshall County2017009
16 April 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresKansas Forest Servicenot named
11 April 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresKansas Forest Service2015017
24 February 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined2,288 acresMarshall Countynot named
20 February 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresKansas Forest Service10
16 February 2017Debris and open burning2.0 acresMarshall County2017003
15 December 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKansas Forest Service2019006

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Marshall County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Bestwall: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Gypsum-Anhydrite. 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
Blue Rapids Mine & MillGypsum-AnhydriteProducer
Blue Rapids Mine & MillGypsum-AnhydriteProducer

Every working recorded in Marshall County

Storms near this place

35 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bestwall in 35 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 19 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. 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
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBestwall$5,000Several one inch tree limbs were down, as well as a 6 to 8 inch diameter tree in Blue Rapids. Power outages were also reported in the city.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBestwall-No damage reported, but person had high confidence in 70 mph winds.
April 2023HailBestwall-Ping pong sized hail reported for about 10 minutes.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Six inch tree limbs blown down.
July 2023HailBestwall-Hail covering the ground with sizes up to half dollars.
July 2023HailBestwall-Hail covering the ground with hail diameter up to 2 inches in size.
July 2023HailBestwall-Golf ball sized hail reported in Blue Rapids.
June 2022Tornado (EF1)Bestwall-Another tornado path that was nearly indistinguishable from the widespread straight line wind damage that preceded it into the north side of Blue Rapids. It appears that a tornado did damage along a path that traveled just north of a Georgia Pacific Plant along and just west of highway 77 where it derailed train cars then pushed south into the river bottoms snapping trees. The track became very broad as it approached the river where it appears it transitioned to a damaging downburst surge of 100-105 mph straight line winds across the city of Blue Rapids with the worst damage on the west side of the city.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Numerous 2 to 4 inch diameter tree limbs down.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Trees and power lines down.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Winds estimated at 95 mph. One and two family residences lost portions of the roof, many trees down in the town of Blue Rapids.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Power poles broken and 3 inch diameter tree limbs down, likely associated with a tornado.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Trees uprooted or snapped, roof blown off a structure.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Power poles broken, 3 inch diameter tree limbs down as reported via mping.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Trees reported down.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Report of 60 mph wind gust.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Report of 4 inch diameter tree limb down.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Report via social media of 4 inch tree limb down.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Estimated wind gust.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Large broken tree branches, up to 3 inches in diameter. Time was estimated from radar.
May 2018Tornado (EF0)Bestwall-Short weak tornado along leading edge of outflow with bowing structure.
September 2018Flash FloodBestwall-Water was reported over Highway 77 near the 7th road intersection.
September 2018Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Estimated wind gust of 60 MPH. Tree limbs were reported down although the size was unknown.
April 2016Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Time estimated by radar.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindBestwall-Wind gusts estimated.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindBestwall-A trained spotter near Blue Rapids reported a 60 mph wind gust.
September 2010Funnel CloudBestwall-A storm chaser reported a brief funnel cloud near Blue Rapids.
April 2025HailBestwall-no account filed
May 2016HailBestwall-no account filed
April 2016HailBestwall-no account filed
April 2016HailBestwall-no account filed
October 2016HailBestwall-no account filed
October 2014HailBestwall-no account filed
May 2013HailBestwall-no account filed
May 2010HailBestwall-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Marshall 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
Blue Rapids2.1 miles15
Alcove Spring3.8 miles15
Shroyer4.4 miles15
Waterville5.5 miles15
Reedsville7.0 miles14
Carden8.8 miles14
Marysville9.0 miles15
Upland9.2 miles14

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.

Wikidata item Q122592278The 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 484949. 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.