Spruce, Minnesota
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1977. It stands in Clinton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 55751. The Survey maps it on the Eveleth quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 12 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.
- 1951 USGS Eveleth quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1954 USGS Hibbing quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Hibbing quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Hibbing quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Hibbing quadrangle1:250000
- 1977 USGS Hibbing quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
276 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 276 fires within 5 miles of Spruce between 1992 and 2020, burning about 524 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 75 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 |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 75 |
| Debris and open burning | 68 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 55 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 25 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 12 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Other causes | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2005 | Natural | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 September 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | 3.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 September 2006 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 71 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | JUNCTION 101 FIRE |
| 26 September 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 10 September 2012 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 August 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 August 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.1 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 31 August 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 53 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 53 workings within 5 miles of Spruce: 39 past producers, 10 producers, 2 plants, 2 prospects. 12 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Aluminum, Manganese, Phosphorus-Phosphates, Silica, Water, Free, Manganese, Silica, Aluminum, Water, Free, Phosphorus-Phosphates. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloquet Annex Reserve X-62 | Iron, Aluminum, Manganese, Phosphorus-Phosphates, Silica, Water, Free | Past Producer | 1943 | |
| Magnetic Taconite Mesabi Range 17w | Iron, Water, Free | Prospect | Surface | |
| Security Mine | Iron, Manganese, Silica, Aluminum, Water, Free, Phosphorus-Phosphates | Past Producer | 1961 | |
| Gulbranson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Gulbranson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sly Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Aad Mine | Iron | Past Producer | 1904 | |
| Alice Mine | Iron | Past Producer | Hematite, Magnetite | |
| Alice Mine | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Auburn Mine | Iron | Producer | Hematite, Magnetite |
Storms near this place
3 since 2014Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Spruce in 3 storm reports between 2014 and 2023: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spruce | - | Numerous trees were down onto power lines just off County Road 7 near Old Mesaba and Ramshaw roads and the CN Railroad tracks. Tree limbs ranged in diameter from 4 to 12 inches and were broken about 20 feet off the ground. The trees were a mix of popples, pines and maples. |
| September 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spruce | - | Several trees were knocked down blocking Old Mesabi Road in Clinton Township. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spruce | - | A couple structures just west of Highway 53 were damaged when thunderstorm winds tore off outside walls. |
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.
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 662523. 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.





