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Florence, Montana

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1998. It stands in the Stevensville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59833. It stands on One Horse Creek. The Survey maps it on the Florence quadrangle. 821 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,264 feet above sea level.

Florence within Ravalli County

Population over time

2 figures

Florence grew from 765 to 821 between 2010 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
2010765
2020821+56 (+7%)

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

137 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 137 fires within 5 miles of Florence between 1992 and 2020, burning about 263 acres in total. 28 started naturally. 3 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined33
Recreation and ceremony32
Natural28
Arson/incendiarism3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Fireworks2
Smoking1
Other causes1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
9 September 2000Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreBitterroot National ForestBLACKJACK
30 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreBitterroot National ForestBASS OVERLOOK
25 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreBitterroot National ForestSITE 22
24 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreBitterroot National ForestONE HORSE FIRE
2 September 2009Naturalunder an acreBitterroot National ForestCARLTON CREEK
17 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLolo National ForestMORMON PEAK#4
14 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRavaIIi County441 TIE CHUTE LN
12 September 1996Natural2.5 acresSouthwestern Land OfficeWOODCHUCK

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Ravalli County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Florence: 2 occurrences, 2 prospects. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Pumice, Zinc, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Gold, Lead, Silver. 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
One HorseZinc, Silver, LeadProspect
Unnamed LocationGoldOccurrence
Unnamed Pubmice OccurrencePumiceOccurrence
Wild MapleZinc, Gold, Lead, SilverProspect

Every working recorded in Ravalli County

Storms near this place

21 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Florence in 21 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 8 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 5 flood, 1 lightning. 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 2013LightningFlorence1 hurtA 22 year old male was struck by lightning while changing an irrigation pipe. Injuries were reported as second degree burns.
March 2014FloodFlorence$16,000Above normal snowfall in February resulted in an unusually high snowpack across the Bitterroot Valley at the beginning of March. The Hamilton COOP reported a snow depth of 16 on March 2 which disappeared by March 9. Weather spotters in the Florence area reported well over a foot of snow at the beginning of March. This snowpack combined with 0.50 to 1 of mild rainfall and temperatures well into the 50's caused rapid snowmelt and subsequently overland flooding in the Bitterroot Valley. A person from the public in Florence off Hidden Valley Rd. reported a damaged fence, multiple homes with water damage and several windows broken. The MT DOT reported heavy water on the roadways S-203 2 miles east of Florence, near the junction with US-93. They also reported heavy amounts of water on S-203 10 miles north of the Stevensville Junction with S-269. The Ravalli County DES coordinator remarked that this was the worst flooding he had seen in 41 years in these areas.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindFlorence$10,000Multiple trees fell due to the severe wind in the Florence area with up to 6 inch diameter bases. One large tree fell onto a house and broke the sky light. Another tree hit a power line on Ambrose Creek causing a fire. Over three thousand customers were without power for four hours after the thunderstorm went through.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindFlorence-Reports of large trees down near Lolo Pass were received. Radar velocity data indicated winds over 60 mph.
May 2018FloodFlorence-The Bitterroot River near Missoula reached minor flood stage which caused field flooding on the east side of Highway 93 both north and south of Lolo. Ground water adjacent to the Bitterroot River flooded the Linda Vista Golf course and nearby homeowner's backyards.
February 2017Heavy RainFlorence-An NWS Employee reported extensive ponding in fields and near property in Corvallis, MT. The exceptionally high amount of valley snow-pack allowed for periods of moderate rain combined with relatively warm temperatures to cause unusually extensive areal flooding on Feb. 9 & 10.
July 2016HailFlorence-A co-workers friend reports quarter size hail.
July 2016HailFlorence-NWS employee reports quarter size hail.
January 2014FloodFlorence-A NWS employee observed a small stream that had ran over the Old East Highway northwest of Florence. The combination of rain and snow melt and a cold ground, created conditions for the overland flooding.
May 2014FloodFlorence-The USGS Bitterroot River gauge at Darby reported 5 instances where the river height surpassed the 7.50 ft. flood-stage: 7.84 ft. 8 am MDT 5/24, 7.57 ft. 8 am MDT 5/26, 7.76 ft. 815 am MDT 5/27, 7.63 ft. 8 am MDT 5/28 & 7.67 ft. 815 am MDT 5/29. It also reported a peak discharge rate of 8,590 cubic feet per second at 915 am MDT 5/24. Field flooding was reported by a NWS employee between Lolo and Florence.
May 2014FloodFlorence-The USGS Bitterroot River gauge at Darby reported a peak discharge rate of 8,590 cubic feet per second at 915 am MDT 5/24 and a peak height of 7.84 feet (7.5 ft. is the minor flood stage) at 8 am MDT 5/24. A gravel county road, Ross Lane, located just to the west of the Bitterroot River in Florence experienced minor flooding. The fishing access in Florence was totally inundated but was also closed due to construction. Also a few fields were flooded between Florence and Lolo.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindFlorence-Power was out in the Florence area as reported by an NWS employee.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindFlorence-Power lines down near Highway 93 and Carlton Creek Road between Lolo and Florence.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindFlorence-The utility company reported that several trees were blown down onto powerlines along US Highway 93 between Florence and Stevensville.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindFlorence-Several reports of estimated wind gusts to 60 mph from weather spotters and the public were reported.
July 2010HailFlorence-no account filed
June 2004HailFlorence-no account filed
June 2004HailFlorence-no account filed
August 2003HailFlorence-no account filed
September 1997HailFlorence-no account filed
August 1996HailFlorence-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Ravalli 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
Bitterroot Pines0.7 miles13
Sweeney Creek (historical)1.5 miles14
Kenspur2.7 miles14
Bitter Root (historical)4.4 miles14
Eight Mile (historical)6.7 miles18
Bitterroot Court8.0 miles14
Stevensville8.4 miles14
Apple Blossom Court8.8 miles14

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 FlorenceAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q960690The 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 783551. 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.