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Big Prairie, Michigan

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Big Prairie Township. It lies in ZIP code area 49349. The Survey maps it on the Big Prairie quadrangle.

Big Prairie within Newaygo County

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 13 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

130 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 130 fires within 5 miles of Big Prairie between 1994 and 2020, burning about 259 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 6 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 burning68
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Misuse of fire by a minor9
Equipment and vehicle use7
Arson/incendiarism6
Other causes4
Recreation and ceremony4
Smoking3
Natural2
Fireworks2

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
22 September 2017Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreHuron-Manistee National ForestBASELINE
17 September 2017Other causesunder an acreHuron-Manistee National ForestWILLOW
11 September 2020Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesCROTON TOWNSHIP FD 144 - 2020
9 August 2019Misuse of fire by a minor3.3 acresHuron-Manistee National ForestFOOTBALL
4 August 2019Other causes1.4 acresHuron-Manistee National ForestBARN
4 August 2013Arson/incendiarismunder an acreHuron-Manistee National ForestOXBOW LAKE
3 August 2019Debris and open burning3.2 acresHuron-Manistee National ForestEAST THORNAPPLE
24 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreHuron-Manistee National ForestBIG LOG

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Newaygo County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Big Prairie: 1 producer. All of them still produce. 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
K & V PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Newaygo County

Storms near this place

3 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Big Prairie in 3 storm reports between 2006 and 2022: 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. 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
August 2022Thunderstorm WindBig Prairie$25,000Several trees were blown down across Newaygo county.
July 2006HailBig Prairie$5,000Law enforcement reported one inch hail in Big Prairie.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBig Prairie-Numerous trees were blown down in Big Prairie and Goodwell townships. Trees and power lines were blown down near Bitely.

Every storm recorded in Newaygo 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
Oxbow Park2.3 miles13
Oxbow2.7 miles12
Big Bend3.2 miles13
Croton Heights4.3 miles12
Riverview4.9 miles12
Croton5.6 miles12
White Cloud7.2 miles14
Alleyton (historical)7.9 miles14

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1617444. 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.