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Alpena, Michigan

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Alpena Township. It lies in ZIP code area 49707. It stands on Thunder Bay River. The Survey maps it on the Alpena quadrangle. 10,197 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 591 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Alpena within Alpena County

On record in Alpena

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 9 records

Population over time

2 figures

Alpena fell from 10,483 to 10,197 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201010,483
202010,197-286 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 8 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

59 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 59 fires within 5 miles of Alpena between 1992 and 2020, burning about 37 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 1 was 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 burning17
Missing data/not specified/undetermined14
Railroad operations and maintenance10
Equipment and vehicle use7
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Natural2
Arson/incendiarism1
Recreation and ceremony1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Smoking1

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
21 September 1995Debris and open burningunder an acreMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesALPENA TOWNSHIP FD 18N1075 - 2018
3 July 2020Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesALPENA FIRE DEPARTMENT 0704 - 2020
21 July 2002Naturalunder an acreMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesALPENA FIRE DEPARTMENT 0000686 - 2018
18 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesALPENA FIRE DEPARTMENT 0000759 - 2018
30 June 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesALPENA TOWNSHIP FD 018N745 - 2018
21 June 1995Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Alpena County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Alpena: 3 producers, 1 plant, 1 past producer. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Cement Rock. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Alpena PlantStone, Crushed/BrokenPlant
Alpena QuarryCement RockProducer1908
Limestone Quarry-National GypsumStoneProducer
Alpena Co Pit Re Glancy IncSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Klein Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Alpena County

Storms near this place

25 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alpena in 25 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 14 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 1 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. 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
July 2005LightningAlpena1 hurtA nearby lightning strike at a campground shocked a man who was taking down an awning. He was taken to a local hospital for observation.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindAlpena$50,000A barn was blown over on Hubbard Lake road.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindAlpena$50,000A garage roof was blown over onto a car by thunderstorm wind.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindAlpena$10,000Several trees were downed.
April 1993Thunderstorm WindAlpena$5,000Strong thunderstorm winds uprooted several large trees near Highway M-32.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindAlpena$3,000Several trees down in Washington Avenue Park. Social media pictures included uprooted trees and a blown over portable toilet.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindAlpena$3,000A tree and a few large tree limbs were downed on 2nd Avenue and on Sable Street, near the northern city limits of Alpena.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindAlpena$500A 12-inch-diameter tree was blown over on Long Rapids Road within two blocks northwest of the city limits in Alpena. A wind gust was estimated at 50 mph.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindAlpena$500A 12-inch-diameter tree was uprooted on fair street in the city of Alpena.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindAlpena$500A 15-inch-diameter tree was uprooted on Dow Road in the city of Alpena as reported by a student volunteer.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindAlpena$500Several large trees were uprooted by thunderstorm wind.
August 2025HailAlpena-Multiple reports of hailstones up to 2 inches in diameter near El Cajon and Misery Bays on the Lake Huron coast east of Alpena.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindAlpena-Report from social media of a tree snapped at its base, downing wires and a power pole. Rainfall report from the Alpena area of 2.41 inches of rain with thunderstorms with standing water in yard.
July 2016HailAlpena-Some damage done to area crops, including wheat and soybeans.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindAlpena-Numerous trees and utility lines were downed.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindAlpena-Strong thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and powerlines countywide.
August 1993HailAlpena-A spotter reported dime-size hail on Franklin Street in the city of Alpena.
June 2008HailAlpena-no account filed
July 2007HailAlpena-no account filed
July 2006HailAlpena-no account filed
June 2001HailAlpena-no account filed
May 2000HailAlpena-no account filed
May 1998HailAlpena-no account filed
July 1996HailAlpena-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindAlpena-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Alpena 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
Alpena Junction1.3 miles8
Lakewood8.9 miles7
Cathro9.3 miles7
Paxton9.6 miles8
McHarg9.8 miles8
Ashland9.8 miles7
Rockport10.1 miles7
Ossineke11.0 miles9

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 AlpenaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1012455The 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 620017. 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.