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Bethel, Minnesota

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1916 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Bethel City. It lies in ZIP code area 55005. The Survey maps it on the Saint Francis quadrangle. 476 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 932 feet above sea level.

Bethel within Anoka County

Population over time

3 figures

Bethel grew from 443 to 476 between 2000 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
2000443
2010466+23 (+5%)
2020476+10 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 15 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

199 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 199 fires within 5 miles of Bethel between 1992 and 2020, burning about 506 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 25 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 burning93
Missing data/not specified/undetermined34
Arson/incendiarism25
Equipment and vehicle use17
Recreation and ceremony17
Smoking3
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Fireworks2
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Natural2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
29 September 2011Arson/incendiarism5.5 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 September 2000Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 September 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
24 September 2012Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
16 September 2012Fireworksunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 August 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
23 August 2013Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 August 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Anoka County

Storms near this place

29 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bethel in 29 storm reports between 1999 and 2023: 14 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 3 funnel cloud, 2 tornado. The reports record 4 injuries. 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 2011Thunderstorm WindEast Bethel3 hurt, $500,000A large area of eastern Anoka County received damage from severe straight line winds that moved from west to east across the area between 1850 to 1900 CST. Damage includes power lines, railroad crossing gates, personal property and trees. Three injuries occurred near Linwood at Camp Ajawah. A spotter measured 69 mph in the eastern part of East Bethel, or 2 miles north-northwest of Linwood.
June 2005LightningEast Bethel1 hurtA 14-year-old boy was indirectly struck by lightning in the basement of a home near the intersection of 170th and Bender in Section 11 of Columbus Township. He was reaching for a glass on a table when he saw a blue flash by his feet and felt a sudden pain in his back. He was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. The time was estimated.
July 2011Tornado (EF0)East Bethel$25,000A brief tornado touched down on Coon Lake, East of East Bethel. Damage occurred to a boat and the boat dock.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindEast Bethel$2,000Several power lines were blown down near East Bethel, Minnesota.
July 2017Tornado (EF0)East Bethel-The tornado touched down in East Bethel, along 225th Ave NE and just east of Highway 65. It moved southeast, crossing the northern part of Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, and exited the county in the northeast corner of Columbus. Numerous trees were downed, with some hitting houses, sheds and vehicles. The wind also took some siding off a house and dented a garage door. After exiting Anoka County, it moved across the far southwest part of Chisago County, where it dissipated.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindEast Bethel-Several dozen trees were broken or toppled in a neighborhood on the west side of Coon Lake in East Bethel. Some trees landed on homes, sheds and vehicles.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindEast Bethel-Several trees were blown down northeast of Ham Lake, near Coon Lake.
May 2012Heavy RainEast Bethel-A local observer measured 3.32 inches in the last 24 hours.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindBethel-A large tree was blown down across Highway 65 and County Road 24 in East Bethel.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindEast Bethel-A few 8-12 inch diameter trees were blown down near East Bethel, Minnesota.
July 2008Funnel CloudBethel-Spotted near Nowthen and Trout Brook Road in Burns Township.
May 2008HailEast Bethel-Occurred at intersection of County roads 15 and 26.
August 2006HailEast Bethel-Hail covered the ground.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindEast Bethel-Trees were downed onto power lines in East Bethel and Oak Grove.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindEast Bethel-Few trees down.
August 2023HailEast Bethel-no account filed
July 2018HailEast Bethel-no account filed
May 2017HailEast Bethel-no account filed
June 2015HailEast Bethel-no account filed
July 2014HailEast Bethel-no account filed
May 2013HailEast Bethel-no account filed
May 2012HailBethel-no account filed
May 2012HailEast Bethel-no account filed
May 2011Funnel CloudEast Bethel-no account filed
May 2008HailEast Bethel-no account filed
April 2004HailEast Bethel-no account filed
October 2004HailEast Bethel-no account filed
April 2002HailBethel-no account filed
June 1999Funnel CloudEast Bethel-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Anoka 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
Coopers Corner1.8 miles12
Woodlyn Court3.2 miles15
Saint Francis5.0 miles15
Mort5.3 miles13
Oak Grove5.4 miles16
Cedar5.9 miles16
East Bethel6.8 miles13
Soderville8.2 miles13

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 BethelAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2233357The 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 640014. 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.

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.