Skeels, Michigan
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Sherman Township. It lies in ZIP code area 48624. The Survey maps it on the Skeels quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 9 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.
- 1954 USGS Traverse City quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Traverse City quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1969 USGS Skeels quadrangle1:24000
- 1983 USGS Houghton Lake quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Traverse City quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
78 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 78 fires within 5 miles of Skeels between 1992 and 2020, burning about 310 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 4 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 | 27 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 16 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 September 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | CLARE 15 |
| 12 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | GLADWIN 11 |
| 11 August 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 1 August 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 July 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 26 July 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 15 July 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | GLADWIN 15 |
| 11 July 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | GLADWIN RURAL URBAN FD 0000132 - 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 Skeels: 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State of Michigan Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
7 since 2003Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Skeels in 7 storm reports between 2003 and 2025: 4 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Skeels | $12,000 | Multiple reports of thunderstorm wind damage and power outages in neighborhoods near Grass Lake in northwestern Gladwin county. Trained spotter in this area reported personal weather station wind measurement to 51mph at 10 ft above ground level. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Skeels | $11,000 | Adams Road closed north of M-18 due to downed power lines from the thunderstorm winds. Time estimated by radar. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Skeels | $3,000 | Report of a tree down on a power line at N Bard Rd and Eaton Rd. EM stated that the power line was arcing. Time estimated by radar. |
| September 2022 | Hail | Skeels | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Skeels | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Skeels | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Skeels | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Podunk | 2.8 miles | 9 | |
| Oberlin | 4.4 miles | 9 | |
| Butman | 7.2 miles | 9 | |
| Wagarville | 7.5 miles | 9 | |
| Hockaday | 8.5 miles | 9 | |
| McClure | 9.2 miles | 9 | |
| Gladwin | 9.2 miles | 10 | |
| Sugar Rapids | 9.5 miles | 9 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 638050. 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.




