Protection, Kansas
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Protection Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67127. The Survey maps it on the Protection quadrangle. 498 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,850 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Protection
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
Protection High Schoollisted 2005
Population over time
2 figuresProtection fell from 514 to 498 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 514 | |
| 2020 | 498 | -16 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 13 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.
- 1892 USGS Coldwater quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1955 USGS Pratt quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Pratt quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1980 USGS Protection quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Protection quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
7 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Protection between 2015 and 2018, burning about 3 acres in total. 1 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 | 5 |
| Natural | 1 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2015 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 2015048 |
| 1 August 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 2015041 |
| 2 May 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 2015021 |
| 6 March 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 2015010 |
| 10 February 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 2016007 |
| 1 February 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 2016002 |
| 30 October 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 2018056 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 150 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Protection in 150 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 100 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 14 tornado, 6 flash 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1996 | Hail | Protection | $1,500,000 | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Strong Wind | Protection | $100,000 | Unknown wind event occurred in the absence of any thunderstorms. The event occurred in an isolated location. Lots of roof damage, numerous windows blown out of houses, bricks blown off buildings, large tree branches blown down. A trampoline was blown onto a garage. A gas meter was blown off a building. |
| May 1998 | Hail | Protection | $9,000 | no account filed |
| August 2025 | Flash Flood | Protection | - | The emergency manager reported roadway flooding along Road 5. |
| August 2025 | Flash Flood | Protection | - | The emergency manager reported flooding along Route 183, along the Comanche and Clark County border. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Emergency management report tree damage just north of Protection. |
| June 2024 | Flash Flood | Protection | - | Heavy rain over highway. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Report through social media. |
| May 2022 | Tornado (EF0) | Protection | - | Landspout observed by law enforcement and storm spotters. |
| December 2022 | Hail | Protection | - | Report received by social media. |
| May 2019 | Flash Flood | Protection | - | Street flooding in Protection. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Damage was done to a large shed. |
| September 2018 | Flash Flood | Protection | - | Water was reported to be over the road. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH. |
| August 2017 | Heavy Rain | Protection | - | Rainfall was 2.50 inches. |
| October 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH. |
| June 2014 | Flood | Protection | - | Moderate flooding was reported along Kiowa creek with one road closed. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Protection | - | There were also wind gusts to approximately 50 MPH. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | A six inch diameter tree branch was blown down. Also a six foot diameter stock tank was blown from inside a shed to 1/4 mile away from it's beginning location. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | The dispatcher reported 60 mph winds and limbs breaking. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | The resident said the winds were at least 60 mph but could not see out because it was dark. |
| April 2009 | Hail | Protection | - | The hail broke windows of area homes. |
| April 2009 | Hail | Protection | - | The ground was covered with pea to golf ball sized hail. |
| April 2009 | Hail | Protection | - | The spotter also observed rotation in the clouds. |
| May 2008 | Tornado (EF1) | Protection | - | EF1 damage was done in the town of Protection and high end EF1 damage was done to trees just norhteast of town. |
| May 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Protection | - | This tornado moved out of Clark county and did minor tree damage. |
| May 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Protection | - | This tornado did minor tree damage. |
| April 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Protection | - | This tornado did minor damage to some trees. At one point this tornado was observed east of a stronger tornado that was in Clark county. |
| April 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Protection | - | This tornado remained over pasture land and did not strike anything. There were three other tornadoes and other funnel clouds with rapid rotation that did not appear to make contact with the ground. |
| August 2007 | Heavy Rain | Protection | - | Rainfall of 3.50 inches was reported. |
| May 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Protection | - | This was one of an outbreak of tornadoes that occurred on this day...a day after devastating, large and killer tornadoes in geographically the same area. |
| May 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Protection | - | This was the third in a series of tornadoes that moved over range land. There was nothing to strike to cause damage. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | A large cottonwood tree was blown over. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Heavy outdoor furniture was tossed around. |
| October 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Protection | - | This was a brief tornado that did not strike anything. |
| October 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Protection | - | This was a second separate tornado in within a mile of the other. |
| March 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Protection | - | This tornado did not hit anything to damage. |
| March 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Protection | - | No damage reported from this small tornado. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | High wind did quite a bit of structural damage in Protection. Heavy damage was done to several buildings taking off a roof and siding. Several large trees were blown down with numerous big limbs. North of town 14 power poles were taken down by the high wind. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | A tree was blown onto a car. Another 1 1/2 foot diameter tree was blown over by the wind |
| August 2004 | Heavy Rain | Protection | - | The rain fell overnight |
| August 2004 | Heavy Rain | Protection | - | The rain fell overnight. |
| August 2004 | Heavy Rain | Protection | - | The rain fell overnight. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Tree limbs up to nine inches in diameter were broken by the high wind. |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Many trees were destroyed. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Protection | - | Trees blown down. |
| May 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Protection | - | Circulation on the ground reported by very experienced storm chaser. |
| May 1999 | Tornado (F1) | Protection | - | Mature cottonwood grove taken out. |
| July 1998 | Lightning | Protection | - | House was struck and blew out the television. |
| June 2024 | Flash Flood | Protection | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Hail | Protection | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Protection | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Protection | - | no account filed |
| April 2017 | Hail | Protection | - | no account filed |
| September 2016 | Hail | Protection | - | no account filed |
| April 2015 | Hail | Protection | - | no account filed |
| October 2014 | Hail | Protection | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Protection | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coldwater | 9.5 miles | 13 | |
| Buttermilk | 10.8 miles | 13 | |
| Wilmore | 17.2 miles | 13 |
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 Protection | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2672883 | The 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 470780. 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.
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.




