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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.

Sparks within Cherry County

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 10 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

18 since 2004

Regional 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
Natural12
Equipment and vehicle use4
Debris and open burning1
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
18 September 2004Equipment and vehicle use15 acresFort Niobrara National Wildlife RefugeOKIE FIRE
19 August 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
18 August 2020Natural1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
18 August 2020Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
14 August 2012Natural3.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named
13 August 2012Natural2.7 acresFort Niobrara National Wildlife RefugeSOKOL
11 August 2006Naturalunder an acreFort Niobrara National Wildlife RefugeKRZYZANOWSKI
29 July 2017Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresNebraska Forest Servicenot named

Every fire recorded in Cherry County

Storms near this place

25 since 1997

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2010Tornado (EF0)Sparks$42,000At 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 2009HailSparks$10,000no account filed
July 2024HailSparks-Hail reported was slightly larger than golf ball size.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindSparks-The combination of high winds and hail resulted in extensive crop damage. Wind gusts were estimated at least 70 mph.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindSparks-Several trees were downed and power was knocked out to Lakeview.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindSparks-Public estimated 60 mph wind gusts near Sparks.
July 2019HailSparks-Public reported quarter size hail.
September 2019Thunderstorm WindSparks-Thunderstorm wind gust of 60 MPH reported at this location.
July 2015Tornado (EF0)Sparks-Tornado briefly touched down in an open field with no damage reported.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindSparks-Public estimated winds to 56 knots.
August 2011HailSparks-Hail covered the ground, with the largest hail being golf ball size.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindSparks-The thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 mph downed tree limbs.
August 2007Tornado (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 2024HailSparks-no account filed
July 2024HailSparks-no account filed
August 2021HailSparks-no account filed
June 2014HailSparks-no account filed
May 2010HailSparks-no account filed
June 2010HailSparks-no account filed
June 2009HailSparks-no account filed
June 2006HailSparks-no account filed
August 2003HailSparks-no account filed
June 2001HailSparks-no account filed
June 2001Thunderstorm WindSparks-no account filed
June 1997HailSparks-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cherry 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
Thatcher14.5 miles10
Arabia15.8 miles8
Valentine16.3 miles10
Wood Lake20.9 miles9
Crookston26.3 miles9
Simeon33.4 miles9
Kilgore37.1 miles9
Conterra39.4 miles9

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 SparksAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7573700The 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.