Relief, Kentucky
17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Elkfork-Ophir census division. It lies in ZIP code area 41472. It stands on Browns Branch. The Survey maps it on the Redbush quadrangle. It stands 732 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 17 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 Prestonsburg quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Prestonsburg quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1915 USGS Paintsville quadrangle1:48000
- 1917 USGS Paintsville quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Redbush quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Jenkins quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Jenkins quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Redbush quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1982 USGS Williamson quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS Redbush quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
137 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 137 fires within 5 miles of Relief between 1997 and 2020, burning about 3,805 acres in total. None started naturally. 54 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 | 54 |
| Debris and open burning | 45 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 32 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 June 2014 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Kentucky Division of Forestry | CANTRELL'S CREEK |
| 9 April 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | HIGHWAY 589 |
| 9 April 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 8 April 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 8 April 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 7 April 2012 | Debris and open burning | 43 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | SHOP BRANC |
| 7 April 2002 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 6 April 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | SHOP BRANCH |
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 Relief: 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cantrill Branch Shale | Clay | Prospect |
Storms near this place
11 since 2003Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Relief in 11 storm reports between 2003 and 2013: 4 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2009 | Tornado (EF1) | Relief | $35,000 | An EF1 tornado with winds of 90-95 mph touched down 1.5 miles northwest of Relief. The tornado was on the ground for 1.5 miles and had a path width of 75 yards. The tornado lifted shortly after crossing into Johnson County. Dozens of trees were damaged and numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Relief | $20,000 | Multiple trees were blown down and half inch diameter hail occurred. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Relief | $5,000 | Trees were down on KY 437 between mile markers 11 and 12. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Relief | $1,000 | A tree 18 inches in diameter was blown down onto Highway 172 about 1 mile east of Relief at around 450 pm. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Relief | - | Several trees were blown down and lots of tree litter covered a section of Highway 437, near the intersection with Highway 172. |
| June 2010 | Heavy Rain | Relief | - | Two and a half inches of rain fell in Relief between 3 and 4 pm. |
| April 2005 | Flash Flood | Relief | - | One and a half feet of water flowing across Patoker Branch. |
| February 2012 | Hail | Relief | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Relief | - | no account filed |
| March 2004 | Hail | Relief | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Relief | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cindas Creek | 2.0 miles | 16 | |
| Mima | 2.8 miles | 16 | |
| Ophir | 2.8 miles | 16 | |
| Upper Sandlick (historical) | 2.9 miles | 16 | |
| Moon | 3.5 miles | 16 | |
| Lower Sandlick (historical) | 3.6 miles | 16 | |
| Lost Creek (historical) | 4.4 miles | 16 | |
| Silverhill | 5.2 miles | 16 |
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 Relief | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7311067 | 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 508918. 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.









