Sparks, Nebraska
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1950 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Valentine precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 69220. The Survey maps it on the Sparks quadrangle. It stands 2,602 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 10 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.
- 1950 USGS Sparks quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Valentine quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Valentine quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Sparks quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Valentine quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
18 since 2004Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 18 fires within 5 miles of Sparks between 2004 and 2020, burning about 90 acres in total. 12 started naturally. None was 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 12 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 acres | Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge | OKIE FIRE |
| 19 August 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 18 August 2020 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 18 August 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 14 August 2012 | Natural | 3.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 13 August 2012 | Natural | 2.7 acres | Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge | SOKOL |
| 11 August 2006 | Natural | under an acre | Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge | KRZYZANOWSKI |
| 29 July 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Storms near this place
25 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sparks in 25 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 15 hail, 7 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Sparks | $42,000 | At 845 PM CDT, the tornado touched down over an open field west of Sparks and traveled east where it struck a metal building tearing off the southwest facing roof. The tornado destroyed a portion of a grandstand and completely demolished a concession stand before lifting 200 yards east of the concession stand. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Sparks | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Hail | Sparks | - | Hail reported was slightly larger than golf ball size. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparks | - | The combination of high winds and hail resulted in extensive crop damage. Wind gusts were estimated at least 70 mph. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparks | - | Several trees were downed and power was knocked out to Lakeview. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparks | - | Public estimated 60 mph wind gusts near Sparks. |
| July 2019 | Hail | Sparks | - | Public reported quarter size hail. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparks | - | Thunderstorm wind gust of 60 MPH reported at this location. |
| July 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Sparks | - | Tornado briefly touched down in an open field with no damage reported. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparks | - | Public estimated winds to 56 knots. |
| August 2011 | Hail | Sparks | - | Hail covered the ground, with the largest hail being golf ball size. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparks | - | The thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 mph downed tree limbs. |
| August 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Sparks | - | A storm chaser observed a rain wrapped tornado near Sparks in Cherry County. The tornado quickly retreated back into the cloud with no damage or injuries reported. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Hail | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| August 2021 | Hail | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Hail | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparks | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Sparks | - | 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.
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 Sparks | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7573700 | The 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 833641. 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.




