Dressen, Kentucky
25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1977. It stands in the Harlan census division. It lies in ZIP code area 40831. It stands on Catron Creek. The Survey maps it on the Harlan quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 25 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.
- 1887 USGS Jonesville quadrangle1:125000
- 1891 USGS Jonesville quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1903 USGS Harlan quadrangle1:48000
- 1916 USGS Harlan quadrangle1:48000
- 1919 USGS Harlan quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1954 USGS Harlan quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1977 USGS Middlesboro quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
196 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 196 fires within 5 miles of Dressen between 1997 and 2020, burning about 13,837 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 34 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 | 83 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 55 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 34 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 18 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Natural | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 28 September 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 30 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 25 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 25 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 22 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 22 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 8.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 21 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 19 August 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | PINE BRANCH FIRE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Dressen: 2 prospects, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Silica. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlan Mine | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Kentenia Shale | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Pine Mountain Sandstone Outcrop | Silica | Prospect |
Storms near this place
2 since 2014Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dressen in 2 storm reports between 2014 and 2019: 2 thunderstorm wind. The reports record 3 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dressen | 3 hurt | A Storm Survey Team comprised of officials from the National Weather Service and Harlan County Emergency Management determined that the wind damage that occurred on Monday April 28th in the Harlan and Evarts Communities of Harlan County was caused by straight-line winds of up to 90 mph. The thunderstorm which caused the damaging winds moved from Tennessee across southeast Whitley County, Bell County and Harlan County producing sporadic wind damage along it's path. The damage in Harlan County included several large hardwood and softwood trees either uprooted or snapped at the base, and damage to at least three structures. Three minor injuries were reported as well.||While a couple witnesses stated that a funnel cloud was observed, all damage surveyed was blown in a northeasterly direction, consistent with straight line wind damage. Either the funnel cloud didn't touch down, or only did so very briefly and the touchdown location was indistinguishable from the straight-line wind damage. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dressen | - | The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet reported trees downed onto U.S. Highway 421 near Harlan. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunshine | 0.4 miles | 25 | |
| Tway | 0.5 miles | 25 | |
| Harlan | 0.8 miles | 25 | |
| Elcomb | 0.9 miles | 25 | |
| Teetersville | 1.4 miles | 25 | |
| Clovertown | 1.6 miles | 25 | |
| Harlan Gas | 1.7 miles | 25 | |
| Rex | 1.9 miles | 25 |
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 Q122555097 | 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 491112. 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.










