BlockBethel, Oklahoma
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1902 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the North McCurtain census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74724. The Survey maps it on the Bethel quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 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.
- 1902 USGS Lukfata quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1950 USGS Mcalester quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1960 USGS Bethel quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1962 USGS Mc Alester quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS McAlester quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Mc Alester quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS McAlester quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Bethel quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS De Queen quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
416 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 416 fires within 5 miles of Bethel between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,891 acres in total. 18 started naturally. 198 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 | 198 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 104 |
| Debris and open burning | 51 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 31 |
| Natural | 18 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2000 | Smoking | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 6 September 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 6 September 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 5 September 2000 | Natural | 1.5 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 4 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 6.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 10460 |
| 4 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 10461 |
| 4 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 10458 |
| 30 September 2015 | 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
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Bethel: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay. 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 Shale Pit | Clay | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
18 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bethel in 18 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 10 hail, 7 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | $5,000 | Several power poles were toppled from the high winds. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | - | Trees were blown down along Highway 259 near the triangle in the Bethel community. |
| June 2021 | Hail | Bethel | - | Quarter size hail fell in the community of Bethel. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | - | Numerous trees and power lines were downed in the Bethel community, causing widespread power outages in the area. |
| March 2008 | Hail | Bethel | - | Hail covered the ground in Bethel, Oklahoma. |
| June 1999 | Flash Flood | Bethel | - | Several roads closed in town |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | - | Numerous trees down. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | - | Severe thunderstorms moved across eastern Oklahoma during the late afternoon and evening of July 4th. The storms produced large hail, damaging winds, and one tornado. The tornado touched down briefly at 1602CST near the intersection of 171st Street South and Lewis Avenue 4.5 miles west southwest of Bixby. The tornado heavily damaged one barn and downed trees. The tornado was 30-yards wide, was on the ground for 200 yards, and was rated as an F-0. Straight-line Thunderstorm Winds caused heavy damage to several buildings throughout Cherokee County, and the Venture Drilling Building in Tahlequah was destroyed by 70 mph winds. Numerous trees and large tree limbs were also blown down in Tahlequah, and some vehicles were damaged by fallen trees. Damage in Tahlequah was estimated at $100 thousand. A tractor semi-trailer was blown off the road just west of Wagoner, and an 80-foot radio tower was blown down by 65 mph winds near Hulbert. A fireworks stand was blown over by 60 mph winds in Wagoner, and strong thunderstorm winds just west of Coweta downed a two-foot diameter tree and 60 feet of fence. Trees and large tree limbs were blown down on the Tulsa/Wagoner County line 2.5 miles southeast of Broken Arrow, and nickel-size hail also fell at the same location. A three-foot diameter oak tree was blown down at the intersection of 151st Street South and Memorial Drive in the town of Bixby, and trees were also blown down two miles south of Glenpool, nine miles west of Wilburton, 10 miles south of Wilburton, in Talihina, five miles northeast of Bethel, and at Broken Bow Lake. Three-inch diameter tree limbs were blown down at the intersection of 111th Street South and Elm Street in Broken Arrow, and numerous large tree limbs were blown down in Stigler, in McAlester, and at Cherokee Landing State Park five miles north of Cookson. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 71 mph at an automated observing site near Talihina and to 70 mph in Salina and in Eucha. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 60 to 65 mph at several other locations in eastern Oklahoma. Golf ball-size hail fell at Mason, half dollar-size hail fell at Okmulgee, and quarter-size hail fell 1.5 miles south of Mounds, at Glenpool, two miles south of Glenpool, and at Kiefer. Dime to nickel-size hail fell at numerous other locations in eastern Oklahoma. The thunderstorms also produced very heavy rainfall in Cherokee County which resulted in street flooding in Hulbert. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | - | Several trees were blown down. |
| February 2008 | Hail | Bethel | - | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Hail | Bethel | - | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Hail | Bethel | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Bethel | - | no account filed |
| March 1999 | Hail | Bethel | - | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Hail | Bethel | - | no account filed |
| May 1997 | Hail | Bethel | - | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethel | - | no account filed |
| October 1993 | Hail | Bethel | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwood | 3.7 miles | 19 | |
| Mount Herman | 3.9 miles | 19 | |
| Battiest | 5.2 miles | 19 | |
| Pickens | 9.6 miles | 15 | |
| Clebit | 9.9 miles | 15 | |
| Nani-chito | 11.0 miles | 16 | |
| Smithville | 12.6 miles | 16 | |
| Hochatown | 15.0 miles | 15 |
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 Bethel | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4897821 | 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 1090032. 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.