Miracle, Kentucky
18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1977. It stands in the Tejay census division. It lies in ZIP code area 40856. It stands on Brownies Creek. The Survey maps it on the Balkan quadrangle. It stands 1,073 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 18 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 Cumberland Gap quadrangle1:125000
- 1888 USGS Cumberland Gap quadrangle1:125000
- 1891 USGS Cumberland Gap quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1903 USGS Pineville quadrangle1:48000
- 1954 USGS Balkan quadrangle1:24000, 2 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
- 1974 USGS Balkan quadrangle1:24000
- 1977 USGS Middlesboro quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
283 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 283 fires within 5 miles of Miracle between 1997 and 2020, burning about 10,794 acres in total. None started naturally. 62 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 | 112 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 91 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 62 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 13 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | TANYARD HILL |
| 6 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 30 September 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 15 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 30 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 28 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 26 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 22 September 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 20 September 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Miracle: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hana Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Mayfield Mine | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
7 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Miracle in 7 storm reports between 2006 and 2024: 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2020 | Flood | Miracle | $11,000 | Local media reported Bell County Veterans Memorial Park was under 2-3 feet of water, while a mudslide was observed on Kentucky Highway 987 near the Miracle Bridge. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Miracle | $10,000 | Trees were blown down in Hulen or 4 miles north northeast of Miracle. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Miracle | $9,000 | Radio station WRIL reported a snapped power pole on KY-987 near the intersection of Baker Hill Road (close to Community Harvest Tabernacle). In addition, the KSP post in Harlan also reported a tree had blown down onto KY-987 in the same vicinity, blocking both lanes. |
| July 2015 | Flash Flood | Miracle | $1,000 | Brownies Creek flooded again during the evening, impacting residences along Hwy 987. |
| July 2015 | Flash Flood | Miracle | $1,000 | Residences along Hwy 987 in Miracle became flooded after Brownies Creek left its banks. |
| July 2024 | Flash Flood | Miracle | - | Pictures on social media showed flooding along KY-987, a half mile from the US-119/KY-987 intersection, just east of the Calvin community. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Miracle | - | Two tree's down. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tejay | 1.2 miles | 18 | |
| Varilla | 1.7 miles | 27 | |
| Callaway | 1.9 miles | 18 | |
| Balkan | 2.1 miles | 18 | |
| Kettle Island | 2.4 miles | 18 | |
| Jenson | 2.7 miles | 18 | |
| Kettle Island Coal Camp (historical) | 2.8 miles | 18 | |
| Oaks | 3.0 miles | 27 |
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 Miracle | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q6872358 | 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 508617. 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.










