Hightop, Kentucky
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Keavy census division. It lies in ZIP code area 40744. It stands on Buck Branch. The Survey maps it on the London SW quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 14 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.
- 1893 USGS London quadrangle1:125000
- 1897 USGS London quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1952 USGS London SW quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Winchester quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Winchester quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS London SW quadrangle1:24000
- 1982 USGS Somerset quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
81 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 81 fires within 5 miles of Hightop between 1993 and 2019, burning about 470 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 32 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 |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 32 |
| Debris and open burning | 14 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 12 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 7 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Daniel Boone National Forest | CADILLIAC |
| 5 September 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.5 acres | Daniel Boone National Forest | AUGER SPRINGS |
| 25 September 2008 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 13 September 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Daniel Boone National Forest | BURNT CAR |
| 1 September 2007 | Natural | 45 acres | Daniel Boone National Forest | GRIFFIN |
| 31 August 2007 | Natural | under an acre | Daniel Boone National Forest | COLD HILL |
| 26 August 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Daniel Boone National Forest | COLDHILL CAMPFIRE |
| 17 August 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Daniel Boone National Forest | COLD HILL |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Hightop: 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Zinc, Lead, Silver. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryant Prospect | Zinc, Lead, Silver | Prospect |
Storms near this place
17 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hightop in 17 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 8 hail, 7 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. 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 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hightop | $5,000 | The roof was blown off of a barn by thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Hightop | - | A picture on social medai showed hail covering the ground north of Keavy along KY-192. The majority of the stones were closer to quarter-sized, however a few significantly larger stones were also visible in the picture, including some that were at least egg sized. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hightop | - | A tree was reported down at the corner of Maple Grove Rd. and KY-192. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hightop | - | A tree was reported down by the Dept. of Highway on Sulfer Springs Rd just off KY-192 near the community of Hightop. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Hightop | - | The public reported half dollar-sized (1.25 inch) hail approximately 2 miles west of Hightop. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hightop | - | A tree was reported down at Couch Baker Lane near Hightop, Kentucky. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Hightop | - | The county emergency manager reported a storm producing half dollar-sized (1.25 inch) hail at Hightop. |
| February 2019 | Heavy Rain | Hightop | - | Emergency Management relayed a report of Laurel River Lake beginning to fill up and rise over the spillway. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hightop | - | Dispatch relayed a report of a tree down along Kentucky Highway 192 near Hightop. |
| April 2012 | Hail | Hightop | - | The hail occurred at 10693 highway 192. |
| April 2011 | Flash Flood | Hightop | - | Highway 192 was closed due to 4 feet of water standing on the road. Traffic near the area was being rerouted. |
| March 2011 | Hail | Hightop | - | The hail was the size of golf balls. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hightop | - | Numerous trees down along Highway 192 near Marsh Branch. |
| July 2003 | Hail | Hightop | - | Hail with a diameter of 0.88 inches was reported in the Locust Grove area off of Kentucky Highway 192. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hightop | - | Several trees blown down blocking the Marina entrance to the Laurel River Lake. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Hightop | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Hightop | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keavy | 2.5 miles | 14 | |
| Vox | 3.3 miles | 16 | |
| Pine Grove | 5.1 miles | 14 | |
| Dorthae | 5.2 miles | 17 | |
| Hopewell | 5.8 miles | 17 | |
| Baldrock | 5.9 miles | 16 | |
| Lily | 6.0 miles | 14 | |
| Sublimity City | 7.0 miles | 14 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 512700. 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.






