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West Aurora, Missouri

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1983. It stands in Franklin Township. It lies in ZIP code area 65026. The Survey maps it on the Eldon quadrangle.

West Aurora within Miller County

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 23 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

46 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 46 fires within 5 miles of West Aurora between 1992 and 2020, burning about 371 acres in total. None 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 burning33
Arson/incendiarism4
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Smoking2
Equipment and vehicle use2
Recreation and ceremony1

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 August 2013Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
13 July 2019Smokingunder an acreMissouri Department of Conservation179434-06633-07132019-1815
17 May 1992Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
9 April 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMissouri Department of Conservation178600-06631-04092019-1410
7 April 2001Debris and open burning86 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
4 April 1995Debris and open burning23 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
18 April 2001Debris and open burning9.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
1 April 1997Debris and open burning1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Miller County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of West Aurora: 8 past producers, 2 prospects, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Lead, Zinc, Zinc, Barium-Barite, Coal, Lead, Barium-Barite. 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
Compton's DiggingsLeadPast Producer
Libbert Barite ProspectBarium-BaritePast Producer
Ulrey TractZinc, Barium-Barite, Coal, LeadPast Producer
Bunker's ProspectLead, ZincProspect
Coykendall ProspectLead, ZincProspect
Tiptons ProspectLead, ZincPast Producer
Hicks QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Howard Quarry Number Eighty-TwoStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown-LsStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown-LsStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Miller County

Storms near this place

13 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Aurora in 13 storm reports between 2009 and 2025: 5 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood, 2 hail. The reports record 1 injury. 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
May 2019Tornado (EF1)West Aurora1 hurt, $4,000,000A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed an EF-1 tornado with maximum winds of 104 mph began southwest of Eldon and tracked through Eldon before continuing northeast. The tornado eventually crossed into Cole County where it strengthened to EF-3 strength before impacting Jefferson City. In Miller County, the tornado touched down west of the Eldon Country Club and damaged numerous homes across the southern and eastern sections of Eldon. One injury occurred in this area. The tornado then tracked northeast, crossing Highway 54 twice, and uprooted or snapped numerous trees as it moved across rural areas in northeastern Miller County before crossing Highway AA at Spring Garden and entering Cole County west of Shipman Road.
June 2025HailWest Aurora$30,000Photos from social media showed several hail stones between half dollar and golf ball size hail. A large volume of hail was reported within the storm, with Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers requesting MODOT assistance clearing the roadway on Highway 54. Several vehicles had damaged windshields.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindWest Aurora$1,000A carport was flipped upside down and several large limbs were blown down.
June 2025HailWest Aurora-Hail reported to cover the ground around quarter size southwest of Eldon.
August 2017Flash FloodWest Aurora-The low water crossing at State Highway Z along Big Spring Creek was flooded.
August 2017Flash FloodWest Aurora-The low water crossing at Watts Road near Moreau Creek was flooded.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindWest Aurora-A tree was blown down on Hittridge Road near Eldon.
November 2015FloodWest Aurora-Route Z was closed due to flooding near Blue Springs Creek between Blue Spring Drive and Honeysuckle Road.
December 2015Flash FloodWest Aurora-Highway Z was impassable and closed due to flooding.
September 2012Thunderstorm WindWest Aurora-A small tree had snapped.
May 2011FloodWest Aurora-Missouri Route Z was closed due to flooding at a low water crossing.
July 2010Flash FloodWest Aurora-The intersection of Highways Y and Z was flooded and closed.
May 2009Flash FloodWest Aurora-Excessive rainfall in excess of three inches occurred over western sections of Miller County. The communities of Lakeland , Lakeview, Lakeside, and Bagnell were impacted the greatest with flash flooding of roads and low water crossings. A couple of specific locations that flooded included the intersection of Highway W and Lakeland Road along with a section of Blue Spring Drive at its intersection with the Little Gravois Creek.

Every storm recorded in Miller 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
Aurora Springs0.9 miles23
Eldon2.5 miles23
Rocky Mount3.7 miles22
Mount Pleasant5.3 miles23
Pleasant Mount5.8 miles19
Bagnell6.1 miles22
Lakeland6.7 miles25
Lakeview7.0 miles22

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 728526. 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.