Bethany, Kentucky
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Malaga census division. It lies in ZIP code area 41301. It stands on Bee Branch. The Survey maps it on the Landsaw quadrangle. It stands 830 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 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.
- 1889 USGS Salyersville quadrangle1:125000
- 1891 USGS Salyersville quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1899 USGS Salyersville quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1951 USGS Landsaw quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Jenkins quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Jenkins quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Landsaw quadrangle1:24000
- 1971 USGS Landsaw quadrangle1:24000
- 1982 USGS Irvine quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
114 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 114 fires within 5 miles of Bethany between 1997 and 2020, burning about 1,151 acres in total. None started naturally. 18 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 | 53 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 18 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 18 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 3 September 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 22 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 18 September 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | CAVE BRANCH ROAD |
| 1 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | HWY 1812 N |
| 28 June 2012 | Debris and open burning | 7.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | CAVE BRANC |
| 15 June 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 26 May 2015 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Kentucky Division of Forestry | BAPTIST FORK RD. |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
19 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bethany in 19 storm reports between 1997 and 2026: 9 thunderstorm wind, 7 flash flood, 2 hail, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Bethany | $250,000 | Multiple pictures and reports of flash flooding were posted on social media from along Hwy-15 in the Bethany area. Water had surrounded and entered in numerous homes and businesses in the area. |
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Bethany | $100,000 | Flash flooding impacted the community of Bethany, including Bethany Christian School. Multiple social media reports with pictures came in of flood waters inside of the school. |
| February 2019 | Flash Flood | Bethany | $15,000 | A portion of Kentucky Highway 1261 in Bethany was covered with flowing water as heavy rain occurred. Additionally, Bethany Christian School experienced water inundation in and around campus. Several footbridges were damaged and destroyed as well as numerous homes having water near and in them. |
| April 2015 | Flash Flood | Bethany | $1,000 | Highway 1261 was flooded and impassable at the intersection of Spring Branch Rd. |
| February 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethany | - | A social media user reported a tree blown down onto a road about 1 mile west northwest of the Bethany community. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Bethany | - | A picture on social media showed hail around 1 inch in the community of Bethany in Wolfe County. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethany | - | A large tree branch was blown down on Rose Bend Road near the community of Bethany. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethany | - | A large tree reportedly fell and blocked Tom Rose Branch Road near the community of Bethany. |
| July 2022 | Flash Flood | Bethany | - | Several reports of flash flooding were received from Wolfe County during the evening and overnight hours of July 27th to July 28th. These reports included: ||8:26 PM EST - Flash flood waters were reported up to the porches of Terrill Fork and Holly Roads near the community of Hollonville. |9:55 PM EST - Flash flood waters were reported in the churchyard at the Lee City First Church of God. |9:55 PM EST - Flash flood waters were reported over KY-205 near the intersection of Trent Fork and Greenbrier Branch Road. |9:58 PM EST - The main bridge along KY-1261 was flooded, along with multiple places with flood debris in the road. |11:13 PM EST - Flash flood waters are reportedly over KY-205 at multiple places in Breathitt and Wolfe counties beteen Vancleve and Lee City. |2:08 AM EST - 7 to 8 inches of water was flowing on Main Street for a second time in the same evening in front of Sweet Arts.|2:11 AM EST - 7 to 8 inches of water was flowing over Drake Road in Campton. |
| May 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethany | - | Dispatch reported a tree blown down northwest of Bethany. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethany | - | A tree was blown down and onto some nearby power lines. Numerous large limbs were also blown down around the area. |
| September 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethany | - | A tree was blown down and onto Cave Branch Road. |
| April 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethany | - | Three trees were blown down on Hwy 1261 in Bethany. |
| February 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethany | - | A tree was blown down on Cave Branch Road near Bethany. |
| July 2013 | Flood | Bethany | - | Water overflowed the banks of a creek and flooded a road in Bethany. |
| May 2004 | Flash Flood | Bethany | - | Numerous roads were flooded across the county. |
| June 2000 | Flash Flood | Bethany | - | Water was reported over Route 1812 along Stillwater Creek. Numerous debris flows were noted over the roads. Holly Creek was out of its bank by 20 feet along Highway 1261. Numerous bridges were under water, evidence of debris was seen 3 to 4 feet above bridge decks along Terrell Fork. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethany | - | Numerous trees down between Rosedale and Bethany along HWY 1261. |
| May 1997 | Hail | Bethany | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pence | 1.1 miles | 13 | |
| Hollonville | 1.3 miles | 13 | |
| Rye (historical) | 1.9 miles | 12 | |
| Baileyfield (historical) | 2.2 miles | 13 | |
| Mary | 3.6 miles | 12 | |
| Antioch (historical) | 3.6 miles | 12 | |
| Chamber Fork (historical) | 4.1 miles | 13 | |
| Vortex | 4.3 miles | 12 |
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 Bethany | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4897704 | 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 486924. 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.








