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.
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 19 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.
- 1899 USGS Siloam Springs quadrangle1:125000
- 1903 USGS Siloam Springs quadrangle1:125000
- 1904 USGS Siloam Springs quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1954 USGS Tulsa quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Tulsa quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1963 USGS Tulsa quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Watts quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1979 USGS Fayetteville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
246 since 1992Regional 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/incendiarism | 91 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 |
| Debris and open burning | 41 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 12 |
| Smoking | 11 |
| Natural | 11 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 9 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 4 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2000 | Natural | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 3 September 1998 | Smoking | 3.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 23 September 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 22 September 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 2 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 12 September 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 10 September 1998 | Smoking | 3.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 10 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Limestone Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown Shale Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
8 since 2014Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2023 | Hail | Ballard | $25,000 | Hail slightly larger than golf ball size damaged homes and vehicles. |
| November 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballard | $10,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines, snapped large tree limbs, damaged the roofs of buildings. |
| March 2015 | Hail | Ballard | $10,000 | no account filed |
| February 2018 | Flood | Ballard | - | 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 2018 | Flood | Ballard | - | 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 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ballard | - | A few trees were blown down by strong thunderstorm wind. |
| March 2015 | Hail | Ballard | - | no account filed |
| April 2014 | Hail | Ballard | - | 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.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watts | 1.4 miles | 19 | |
| Chance | 4.2 miles | 18 | |
| Westville | 7.1 miles | 17 | |
| Going Snake | 7.8 miles | 17 | |
| Strawberry Spring | 7.9 miles | 17 | |
| Green | 8.3 miles | 17 | |
| Chewey | 9.5 miles | 18 | |
| Addielee | 9.7 miles | 17 |
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.







