BlockBefore

Gordon, Kentucky

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1977. It stands in the Blackey census division. It lies in ZIP code area 41833. It stands on Valley Branch. The Survey maps it on the Louellen quadrangle. It stands 1,352 feet above sea level.

Gordon within Letcher County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 23 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

120 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 120 fires within 5 miles of Gordon between 1997 and 2020, burning about 12,459 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 20 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 burning47
Missing data/not specified/undetermined41
Arson/incendiarism20
Recreation and ceremony8
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Natural1

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
7 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
4 September 2007Debris and open burning125 acresKentucky Division of ForestryLITTLE SHEPHERD TRAIL
24 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
21 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
5 July 2014Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryBARK CAMP BRANCH- DELPHIA
28 June 2012Equipment and vehicle use1.5 acresKentucky Division of ForestryCHUCK FIRE
21 June 2002Recreation and ceremony20 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
20 June 2016Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestrySANDHILL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Letcher County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Gordon: 1 prospect, 1 producer, 1 past producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Silica, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Iron. 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
Hurricane Gap QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Hurricane Gap Sand PitSilicaProspect
Orebank RidgeIronPast Producer

Every working recorded in Letcher County

Storms near this place

7 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gordon in 7 storm reports between 2008 and 2024: 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2009Thunderstorm WindGordon$1,000A tree was blown down.
February 2008Thunderstorm WindGordon$1,000A tree was blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindGordon-Report of multiple trees down on KY-160 near the community of Gordon, not far from Kingdom Come State Park.
April 2012Flash FloodGordon-Highway 160 near Gordon and Linefork was closed due to flash flooding and a mudslide.
April 2012FloodGordon-Flood waters continued to affect Highway 160 between Gordon and Line Fork through the early morning hours of April 4th.
September 2011FloodGordon-Water of unknown depth flowing over Hwy 160 in Gordon. Road is currently open and this is a flood prone area.
December 2008Flash FloodGordon-State police reported that the Gordon Fire Dept had at least 6 inches of running water over the road at the intersection of Highways 17786 and 160.

Every storm recorded in Letcher 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
Line Fork (historical)3.9 miles16
Linefork3.9 miles16
Defeated Creek4.4 miles16
Hubert (historical)4.6 miles16
Milton (historical)4.8 miles23
Gilley4.8 miles23
Turkey Creek (historical)5.4 miles14
Skyline6.2 miles16

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 GordonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q15221878The 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 512354. 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.