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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.

Hightop within Laurel County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 14 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

81 since 1993

Regional 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/incendiarism32
Debris and open burning14
Recreation and ceremony12
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Equipment and vehicle use7
Smoking4
Natural3
Misuse of fire by a minor2

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
6 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreDaniel Boone National ForestCADILLIAC
5 September 2015Arson/incendiarism6.5 acresDaniel Boone National ForestAUGER SPRINGS
25 September 2008Debris and open burning5.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
13 September 2013Arson/incendiarismunder an acreDaniel Boone National ForestBURNT CAR
1 September 2007Natural45 acresDaniel Boone National ForestGRIFFIN
31 August 2007Naturalunder an acreDaniel Boone National ForestCOLD HILL
26 August 2009Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreDaniel Boone National ForestCOLDHILL CAMPFIRE
17 August 2009Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreDaniel Boone National ForestCOLD HILL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Laurel County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Bryant ProspectZinc, Lead, SilverProspect

Every working recorded in Laurel County

Storms near this place

17 since 1999

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2008Thunderstorm WindHightop$5,000The roof was blown off of a barn by thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2025HailHightop-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 2022Thunderstorm WindHightop-A tree was reported down at the corner of Maple Grove Rd. and KY-192.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindHightop-A tree was reported down by the Dept. of Highway on Sulfer Springs Rd just off KY-192 near the community of Hightop.
May 2022HailHightop-The public reported half dollar-sized (1.25 inch) hail approximately 2 miles west of Hightop.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindHightop-A tree was reported down at Couch Baker Lane near Hightop, Kentucky.
May 2022HailHightop-The county emergency manager reported a storm producing half dollar-sized (1.25 inch) hail at Hightop.
February 2019Heavy RainHightop-Emergency Management relayed a report of Laurel River Lake beginning to fill up and rise over the spillway.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindHightop-Dispatch relayed a report of a tree down along Kentucky Highway 192 near Hightop.
April 2012HailHightop-The hail occurred at 10693 highway 192.
April 2011Flash FloodHightop-Highway 192 was closed due to 4 feet of water standing on the road. Traffic near the area was being rerouted.
March 2011HailHightop-The hail was the size of golf balls.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindHightop-Numerous trees down along Highway 192 near Marsh Branch.
July 2003HailHightop-Hail with a diameter of 0.88 inches was reported in the Locust Grove area off of Kentucky Highway 192.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindHightop-Several trees blown down blocking the Marina entrance to the Laurel River Lake.
May 2016HailHightop-no account filed
April 2002HailHightop-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Laurel 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
Keavy2.5 miles14
Vox3.3 miles16
Pine Grove5.1 miles14
Dorthae5.2 miles17
Hopewell5.8 miles17
Baldrock5.9 miles16
Lily6.0 miles14
Sublimity City7.0 miles14

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.