Kimper, Kentucky
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1978. It stands in the Raccoon census division. It lies in ZIP code area 41539. It stands on Elkhorn Creek. The Survey maps it on the Lick Creek quadrangle. It stands 919 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 19 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.
- 1886 USGS Grundy quadrangle1:125000
- 1890 USGS Grundy quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Grundy quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1915 USGS Regina quadrangle1:62500
- 1915 USGS Regina quadrangle1:48000
- 1916 USGS Regina quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1917 USGS Regina quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Lick Creek quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Jenkins quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Jenkins quadrangle1:250000
- 1977 USGS Pikeville quadrangle1:100000
- 1978 USGS Lick Creek quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
115 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 115 fires within 5 miles of Kimper between 1997 and 2020, burning about 9,298 acres in total. 2 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 | 48 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 34 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 18 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 10 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 98 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 4 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 130 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | WINN BRANCH |
| 25 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 206 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | GRAPEVINE |
| 2 September 2007 | Natural | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 2 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 17 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 7 May 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | LAYNE BRANCH |
| 7 May 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 50 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
27 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kimper in 27 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 12 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 5 flash flood, 1 tornado. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2017 | Flash Flood | Kimper | $50,000 | Emergency management relayed reports of flowing water over Callahan Branch and Peter Fork Road near Buskirk, knocking a few homes off of their foundations. |
| April 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | $20,000 | A trailer was blown off its foundation. |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | $10,000 | Strong winds blew a trailer off its foundation. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | $7,000 | Several trees were blown down on Highways 184 and 460. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | $5,000 | Trees were blown down on Hwy 632. |
| April 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | $5,000 | The covered walkway of a church was blown over. |
| March 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | $5,000 | Strong thunderstorm winds brought trees and power lines down. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | $5,000 | Trees and power lines were downed, and 2 trailers were damaged. |
| May 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Kimper | $5,000 | A small tornado downed trees and damaged the roof of a house. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | $4,000 | Trees were reported down along KY Hwy 194 near Kimper. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | $4,000 | Mobile home overturned. |
| April 2015 | Flash Flood | Kimper | $1,000 | Hurricane Creek was impassable due to flooding. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | $100 | Pike County dispatch reported that strong thunderstorm wind gusts had knocked down a tree onto Upper Johns Creek Road near Kimper. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Kimper | - | A report on social media showed quarter-sized hail along Meathouse Road in the community of Kimper. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Kimper | - | Social media report of approximately golf ball-sized hail (1.75 inch) was received from Lawsons Branch near Highway 194. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Kimper | - | Video provided to Pike County emergency manager showed golf ball-sized (1.75 inch) hail at Kimper. |
| March 2021 | Flash Flood | Kimper | - | Highway 194 is impassable due to flood waters below Meathouse Road. |
| February 2021 | Debris Flow | Kimper | - | A rock and mudslide were reported near the Kimper community on KY 194. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | - | A portion of a mobile homes bedroom was ripped out by thunderstorm wind gusts. A 2X4 was embedded in a structure. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Kimper | - | A picture of the hail was received from the WYMT Facebook page and Chris Johnson of WYMT. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Kimper | - | Public reports were received of quarter to hen egg size hail between Kimper and Canada. |
| February 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Kimper | - | Trees reported down on Highway 194. |
| July 2010 | Flash Flood | Kimper | - | Hurricane Creek was out of its banks; leading to the flooding and subsequent closure of Hwy 194 in Kimper. |
| August 2009 | Flash Flood | Kimper | - | Flood water was reported to be up to a residence near the grade school. |
| July 2008 | Hail | Kimper | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Kimper | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Kimper | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phyllis | 3.8 miles | 19 | |
| Jonkan (historical) | 4.0 miles | 18 | |
| Hurricane Branch (historical) | 4.0 miles | 18 | |
| Head of Johnson Creek (historical) | 4.2 miles | 19 | |
| Grassy Branch (historical) | 4.5 miles | 20 | |
| Raccoon | 4.8 miles | 18 | |
| Upper Pompey (historical) | 4.9 miles | 18 | |
| Right Fork of Meathouse (historical) | 5.0 miles | 19 |
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 Kimper | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q6410242 | 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 495732. 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.











