Viper, Kentucky
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Viper census division. It lies in ZIP code area 41774. It stands on Maces Creek. The Survey maps it on the Hazard South quadrangle. It stands 902 feet above sea level.
On record in Viper
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
- Ritchie Family Home Placelisted 2024
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 16 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.
- 1891 USGS Hazard quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1916 USGS Cornettsville quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Hazard South quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Jenkins quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Jenkins quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Hazard South quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1977 USGS Hazard quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS Hazard South quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
437 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 437 fires within 5 miles of Viper between 1994 and 2020, burning about 17,548 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 82 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 | 174 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 126 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 82 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 39 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 4 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 6 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 12 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 30 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 8.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 30 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 15 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 29 September 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | JEFF |
| 29 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 63 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 29 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.5 acres | Daniel Boone National Forest | ORCHARD |
| 26 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
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 Viper: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Divide Shale | Clay | Prospect |
Storms near this place
14 since 2004Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Viper in 14 storm reports between 2004 and 2024: 9 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 debris flow. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2007 | Flash Flood | Viper | $30,000 | Lewis Hollow Road washed out by flood water. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Viper | $15,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down in Viper. |
| February 2020 | Flood | Viper | $8,000 | Dispatch relayed a report of water over Upper River Road near Viper. Additionally, a couple of homes near Viper and Jeff had water get under their floors and carpet. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Viper | $7,000 | Trees were blown down by wind gusts estimated at 62 mph. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Viper | $1,000 | One tree was blown down along Highway 7. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Viper | - | Trees were reported to have been blown down in the Viper Community of Perry County. |
| April 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Viper | - | An official from the Viper Fire Department reported numerous downed trees, as well as a mobile home and carport being heavily damaged due to thunderstorm winds. |
| September 2018 | Debris Flow | Viper | - | The Department of Highways relayed a report of a mudslide on Kentucky Highway 7 south of Hazard. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Viper | - | A tree was blown down on Maces Creek Rd. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Viper | - | One tree fell down on power lines on Elizabeth Drive in Hazard, and another tree was down in Viper, blocking one lane of Kentucky Highway 1165. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Viper | - | Three trees were down on Left Fork of Maces Creek. |
| April 2015 | Hail | Viper | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Viper | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Viper | - | 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.
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 Viper | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7933440 | 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 516188. 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.







