BlockBefore

Van, Kentucky

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Blackey census division. It lies in ZIP code area 41845. It stands on Hollybush Branch. The Survey maps it on the Mayking quadrangle.

Van within Letcher County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 17 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

232 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 232 fires within 5 miles of Van between 1997 and 2020, burning about 8,683 acres in total. None started naturally. 26 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 burning113
Missing data/not specified/undetermined64
Arson/incendiarism26
Recreation and ceremony23
Smoking2
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
9 September 2007Debris and open burning80 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
8 September 2019Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryCARBON GLOW
8 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
4 September 2008Debris and open burning5.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
25 September 2012Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryWHITCO HIL
22 September 2001Debris and open burning3.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
19 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
24 August 2012Debris and open burning1.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryCOWAN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Letcher County

Storms near this place

6 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Van in 6 storm reports between 2003 and 2025: 3 flash flood, 3 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
January 2025FloodVan-Picture on social media showed minor flooding at the mouth of Smoot Creek Road behind the Action Auto, just north of Van, due to a plugged culvert.
January 2013FloodVan-Highway 1811 was affected by flood waters near the intersection with Hwy 15.
February 2011FloodVan-Several roads were impacted by flooding. Bee Tree Branch, Long Branch, and Star Roads were closed.
April 2007Flash FloodVan-Smoot Creek Road closed.
February 2003Flash FloodVan-Smoot Creek Road was under water at the intersection of Kentucky Highway 15 and Kentucky Highway 160.
May 2004Flash FloodVan-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Letcher 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
Smoot Creek (historical)1.3 miles17
Crown1.7 miles17
Tillie2.1 miles17
Little Colly (historical)2.3 miles17
Whitco2.5 miles18
Marlowe2.7 miles17
Bellcraft2.8 miles17
Hot Spot2.8 miles18

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 509270. 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.