BlockBefore

Ballard, Oklahoma

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the Watts census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74964. The Survey maps it on the Watts quadrangle.

Ballard within Adair County

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 19 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

246 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 246 fires within 5 miles of Ballard between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,424 acres in total. 11 started naturally. 91 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
Arson/incendiarism91
Missing data/not specified/undetermined60
Debris and open burning41
Equipment and vehicle use12
Smoking11
Natural11
Railroad operations and maintenance9
Recreation and ceremony7
Misuse of fire by a minor4

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
5 September 2000Naturalunder an acreOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
3 September 1998Smoking3.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
23 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
22 September 2000Recreation and ceremony2.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
2 September 1999Debris and open burning4.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
12 September 1998Recreation and ceremony2.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
10 September 1998Smoking3.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
10 September 1998Arson/incendiarismunder an acreOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Adair 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 Ballard: 3 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Unknown Limestone PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown Shale PitClayPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Adair County

Storms near this place

8 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ballard in 8 storm reports between 2014 and 2024: 4 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood. 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
June 2023HailBallard$25,000Hail slightly larger than golf ball size damaged homes and vehicles.
November 2024Thunderstorm WindBallard$10,000Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines, snapped large tree limbs, damaged the roofs of buildings.
March 2015HailBallard$10,000no account filed
February 2018FloodBallard-The Illinois River near Watts rose above its flood stage of 13 feet at 4:30 am CST on February 24th. The river crested at 21.70 feet at 5:00 pm CST on the 24th, resulting in moderate flooding. Severe flooding occurred from the Arkansas border to Fidler's Bend, with numerous cabins and permanent campgrounds flooded. The river fell below flood stage at 2:00 pm CST on the 25th.
March 2018FloodBallard-The Illinois River near Watts rose above its flood stage of 13 feet at 9:30 pm CDT on March 27th. The river crested at 17.90 feet at 4:00 am CDT on the 28th, resulting in moderate flooding. Farmland and permanent campgrounds were flooded. The river fell below flood stage at 1:00 pm CDT on the 28th.
December 2015Thunderstorm WindBallard-A few trees were blown down by strong thunderstorm wind.
March 2015HailBallard-no account filed
April 2014HailBallard-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Adair 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
Watts1.4 miles19
Chance4.2 miles18
Westville7.1 miles17
Going Snake7.8 miles17
Strawberry Spring7.9 miles17
Green8.3 miles17
Chewey9.5 miles18
Addielee9.7 miles17

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1089826. 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.