Otis, New Mexico

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1939 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Carlsbad census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88220. The Survey maps it on the Otis quadrangle.

Otis within Eddy County

On record in Otis

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register within a mile 1 record

The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.

Carlsbad Irrigation DistrictNational Historic Landmark · listed 1966 · 0.0 miles away

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 11 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.

1939 USGS Carlsbad quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
1943 USGS Carlsbad quadrangle1:62500
1954 USGS Carlsbad quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1958 USGS Carlsbad quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1979 USGS Carlsbad quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
1985 USGS Otis quadrangle1:24000

Fires near this place

75 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 75 fires within 5 miles of Otis between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,312 acres in total. None 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	51
Debris and open burning	12
Recreation and ceremony	4
Fireworks	3
Smoking	2
Equipment and vehicle use	2
Railroad operations and maintenance	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
24 September 1999	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Roswell Field Office	TORNADO2
2 August 1993	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	15 acres	New Mexico State Forestry Division	TOWNSEND
9 July 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Capitan District	KELLY
9 July 2020	Fireworks	under an acre	Capitan District	21-50130053X
9 July 2013	Fireworks	under an acre	Carlsbad Field Office	SIX MILE
7 July 1998	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	10 acres	New Mexico State Forestry Division	ROBERSON
4 July 2014	Fireworks	1.0 acres	New Mexico State Forestry Division	HOWARD
3 July 2005	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	2.0 acres	Carlsbad Field Office	WALKER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Eddy County

Storms near this place

16 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Otis in 16 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 7 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 1 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
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Otis	$40,000	Power outages were reported throughout Otis as a result of downed power lines from thunderstorm winds.
October 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Otis	$35,000	A fast moving storm with downbursting winds caused damage that started south of the Otis community and moved northward into Otis. The storm moved from about 200 degrees at 30 knots with all of the debris from the damage being blown in this direction. The storm first hit two trailers about 4 miles south of Otis. Tie-down straps held one trailer in place but sustained a few broken windows and a warped door. The other (unstrapped) trailer was blown over and rolled by the strong winds resulting in its destruction. The trailer rolled two times with the floor sitting upright displaced 35 yards to the north in a field. Most of the roof was torn off and was crumpled about 100 yards farther north in the field.The next area to suffer damage was 2-3 miles to the NNW of the trailers where a row of 30 foot trees along a property line were uprooted. Next, the winds hit a 3 year old house and ripped off about half of its tin roof. As the storm moved into Otis, the strong winds snapped a string of telephone poles along U.S. Highway 285.A damage survey of the area determined an affected area 4 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. Several houses within the damage area sustained no visible damage. All debris was blown from about 190-195 degrees and was only very slightly divergent.
May 2018	Hail	Otis	$23,000	A thunderstorm moved across Eddy County and produced two inch hail in Otis. Several homes had damage to windows and siding. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.
September 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Otis	$15,000	Several power lines were reported down at the junction of US Hwy 285 and Helper Rd. The estimated wind gust was approximately 80 mph. Property damage cost is an estimation.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Otis	$8,000	Two barns and a carport were destroyed and three utility poles were downed near Otis.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Otis	$2,500	A wet microburst knocked down 3 utility poles along U.S. Highway 285 in Otis.
November 2024	Hail	Otis	-	A trained spotter shared a photo of a golf ball to two-inch diameter hail in Otis near Derrick Rd and Kelly Rd.
June 2021	Flash Flood	Otis	-	Heavy rain resulted in flash flooding in Eddy County. There was a photo of several inches of water around Preakness Gas Plant building about 20 miles northwest of Orla. No damage was reported.
June 2014	Tornado (EF0)	Otis	-	A thunderstorm moved across Eddy County and produced a brief tornado near Otis. No damage was reported with this tornado so the path length and width are estimated. This tornado was rated an EF-0.
June 2009	Flash Flood	Otis	-	The sheriff's office reported that they were barricading low water crossing near Otis due to 1 to 2 feet of flowing water through some intersections. Sandbags were also used to prevent flooding near homes. No damage was reported, however.
July 1997	Flash Flood	Otis	-	Slow-moving thunderstorms dropped flooding rains in eastern Eddy County on State Highway 128. Water was running across the roadway near the 6 mile marker.
May 2019	Hail	Otis	-	no account filed
October 2018	Hail	Otis	-	no account filed
May 2010	Hail	Otis	-	no account filed
June 2010	Hail	Otis	-	no account filed
March 2006	Hail	Otis	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Eddy 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
San Jose	5.2 miles	11
Hagerman Heights	5.3 miles	11
Carlsbad	5.8 miles	11
Loving	5.9 miles	11
West Carlsbad	6.9 miles	12
La Huerta	6.9 miles	11
Harkey Crossing	8.1 miles	10
Lookout (historical)	8.7 miles	10

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 892965. 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.