Bedford, Michigan
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1918 and the latest in 1982. It stands in Bedford Charter Township. It lies in ZIP code area 49017. The Survey maps it on the Bedford quadrangle. It stands 886 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 19 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.
- 1918 USGS Battle Creek quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1943 USGS Battle Creek quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Bedford quadrangle1:24000
- 1950 USGS Battle Creek quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Grand Rapids quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Bedford quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Grand Rapids quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Grand Rapids quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1982 USGS Kalamazoo quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
43 since 2013Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 43 fires within 5 miles of Bedford between 2013 and 2020, burning about 105 acres in total. 9 started naturally. None 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 16 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 |
| Natural | 9 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 August 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | BEDFORD TOWNSHIP FD 00250 - 2019 |
| 8 July 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | BATTLE CREEK FD 03805 - 2018 |
| 5 July 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | PENNFIELD TOWNSHIP FD 00600 - 2019 |
| 11 July 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | BATTLE CREEK FD 03880 - 2018 |
| 27 June 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | SPRINGFIELD DPS 300 - 2019 |
| 22 June 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | SPRINGFIELD DPS 086 - 2020 |
| 17 June 2019 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | BEDFORD TOWNSHIP FD 00167 - 2019 |
| 8 May 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | BEDFORD TOWNSHIP FD 00117 - 2018 |
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 Bedford: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickman Road Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
12 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bedford in 12 storm reports between 1993 and 2013: 6 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 tornado, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2013 | Flood | Bedford | $5,000,000 | Significant flooding occurred on rivers and streams across Calhoun county due to heavy rainfall and antecedent high river levels and saturated grounds. |
| June 1998 | Tornado (F1) | Bedford | $50,000 | Damage surveys conducted by the National Weather Service with the assistance of the Civil Air Patrol and Calhoun County Emergency Management confirmed a brief tornado touchdown occurred in Bedford Township of northwest Calhoun County at 4:34 pm EDT on Friday, June 12th. The tornado touched down in a low wooded area near Kirby Lake, 2 miles southwest of the village of Bedford. The tornado crossed Collier Road and travelled along Halbert Road and caused extensive damage to trees from Wanbascon Creek to about 3/4 of a mile east of Michigan Highway 37. The storm path length was approximately 2.5 statute miles long and up to 600 feet (or 200 yards) wide. It appeared that most of the tornadic winds remained aloft, clipping the upper half of trees like a large weed wacker. Scattered homes in the area received minor damage consisting of broken windows, TV antennas bent over roof tops, and damage to shingles and siding. A few homes sustained roof damage as the result of trees and large limbs being blown down on the dwellings. Based on the estimates from the damage survey in Bedford Township, this particular tornado was rated F1 (73-112mph) on the Fujita Scale. The tornado lifted approximately 4 minutes after touching down as the storm continued to move east-southeast into Pennfield Township. No injuries or fatalities were reported as a direct result of this tornado touchdown. Parts of Michigan Highway 37 were closed for a time after the storm to clear away downed trees and power lines. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bedford | $25,000 | A storm survey discovered several old trees that were blown down in Urbandale just to the northwest of Battle Creek. A Calhoun county emergency manager reported that numerous trees and power lines were blown down in Bedford. However the storm survey indicated no evidence of a tornado touchdown in Calhoun county. |
| December 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bedford | $25,000 | Power lines were blown down. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Bedford | $25,000 | An emergency manager reported one and a quarter inch diameter hail in Bedford. |
| October 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bedford | $20,000 | Law enforcement in Bedford reported that several power poles were snapped off and six trees were blown down. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bedford | $5,000 | A trained spotter reported that several power lines were blown down in Bedford. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bedford | $2,500 | Calhoun County Central Dispatch reported power lines downed in Bedford. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Bedford | - | Reported by amateur radio operators just prior to tornado touchdown. |
| April 1994 | Hail | Bedford | - | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Hail | Bedford | - | no account filed |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bedford | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Park | 2.9 miles | 22 | |
| Urbandale | 3.0 miles | 18 | |
| Level Park | 3.2 miles | 22 | |
| Morgan Corners | 3.8 miles | 18 | |
| Orchard Park | 4.5 miles | 18 | |
| Springfield | 4.8 miles | 18 | |
| Maplehurst | 5.3 miles | 18 | |
| Battle Creek | 5.8 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.
| Wikidata item Q136346973 | 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 620982. 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.








