Belcher, Kentucky
20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1977. It stands in the Elkhorn City census division. It lies in ZIP code area 41522. It stands on Ferrell Creek. The Survey maps it on the Elkhorn City quadrangle. It stands 778 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 20 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.
- 1886 USGS Grundy quadrangle1:125000
- 1890 USGS Grundy quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Grundy quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1915 USGS Regina quadrangle1:62500
- 1915 USGS Regina quadrangle1:48000
- 1916 USGS Regina quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1917 USGS Regina quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Elkhorn City quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Jenkins quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Jenkins quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Elkhorn City quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1977 USGS Pikeville quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
238 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 238 fires within 5 miles of Belcher between 1997 and 2020, burning about 15,792 acres in total. None started naturally. 49 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 87 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 69 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 49 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 31 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | HONEY FORK |
| 28 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | 9.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | ROUTE 80 |
| 19 September 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | JOHN MOORES BRANCH |
| 12 September 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 18 July 2007 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 17 June 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 7 May 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 9 April 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 210 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | DUNLEARY |
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 Belcher: 2 producers, 1 prospect, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkhorn Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Highway 80 Roadcut | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Johnson Mine | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Roadcut Shale | Clay | Unknown |
Storms near this place
5 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Belcher in 5 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 5 thunderstorm wind. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Belcher | - | A tree was reported to have been blown down at the 1600 block of Old Ferrells Creek Road, east of the community of Belcher. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Belcher | - | Trees and limbs were blown down along US-460 in the community of Belcher. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Belcher | - | Large tree limbs were down. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Belcher | - | Trees were blocking several roads across town. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Belcher | - | Many large trees downed across roads around town. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferrell (historical) | 1.0 miles | 20 | |
| Road Junction | 1.1 miles | 19 | |
| Honey Fork | 1.1 miles | 20 | |
| Draffin | 1.2 miles | 19 | |
| Dunleary | 1.7 miles | 20 | |
| Beaver Bottom | 2.0 miles | 20 | |
| Beaver Creek (historical) | 2.2 miles | 20 | |
| Federal | 2.2 miles | 20 |
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 Belcher | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4882046 | 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 486774. 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.











