Ponza, Kentucky
25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1977. It stands in the Pineville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 40977. It stands on Yellow Creek. The Survey maps it on the Middlesboro North quadrangle. It stands 994 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
15 surveys from 25 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 Middlesboro quadrangle1:48000
- 1927 USGS Middlesboro quadrangle1:62500
- 1930 USGS Middlesboro quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1954 USGS Middlesboro North quadrangle1:24000
- 1955 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Middlesboro North quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1960 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Johnson City quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Middlesboro North quadrangle1:24000
- 1976 USGS Middlesboro North quadrangle1:24000
- 1977 USGS Middlesboro quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
169 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 169 fires within 5 miles of Ponza between 1997 and 2020, burning about 8,157 acres in total. None 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 64 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 32 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 14 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 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 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 |
| 28 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 27 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 20 September 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 10 September 2002 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 27 August 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 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 Ponza: 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
6 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ponza in 6 storm reports between 2009 and 2025: 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood, 1 flash flood, 1 hail. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2009 | Flood | Ponza | $5,000 | Blue Ridge Church Road was washed out in Ponza. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ponza | $3,000 | A social media report showed trees down on power lines in the Page community of US-119. Power lines were also downed near the train trestle. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ponza | - | A tree was reportedly blown down at Williams Branch. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ponza | - | A tree was blown down onto KY-1534 about 1/4 mile off US-119 near the community of Calvin. |
| April 2021 | Hail | Ponza | - | A Bell County Road Department employee reported up to quarter-size hail at the highway garage off of KY-119. Localized drifts of hail were noted near the building on the following noontime, even with temperatures warming through the 70s. |
| August 2010 | Flash Flood | Ponza | - | Heavy rain in Bell County led to the flooding of a barn and field in the Calvin area. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calvin | 1.1 miles | 27 | |
| East Pineville | 1.8 miles | 25 | |
| Harbell | 1.8 miles | 25 | |
| Varilla | 2.6 miles | 27 | |
| Ferndale | 2.8 miles | 25 | |
| Wasioto | 3.1 miles | 25 | |
| Colmar | 3.8 miles | 25 | |
| Straight Creek | 3.9 miles | 18 |
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 Ponza | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7228478 | 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 508849. 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.














