BlockBefore

Pickens, Oklahoma

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the North McCurtain census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74728. It stands on Watson Branch. The Survey maps it on the Clebit quadrangle. It stands 856 feet above sea level.

Pickens within McCurtain County

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 15 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

252 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 252 fires within 5 miles of Pickens between 1992 and 2019, burning about 4,073 acres in total. 19 started naturally. 101 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/incendiarism101
Missing data/not specified/undetermined68
Debris and open burning34
Equipment and vehicle use24
Natural19
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Smoking2
Fireworks1
Other causes1

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
7 September 2011Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreOklahoma Division of Forestry10537
5 September 2005Arson/incendiarismunder an acreTalihina AgencySE471
3 September 2010Arson/incendiarism2,300 acresTalihina AgencyCOUNTY LINE
20 September 1995Debris and open burning1.0 acresTalihina Agency0462
20 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
19 September 2006Equipment and vehicle use12 acresOklahoma Division of Forestry10541
14 September 2002Debris and open burning4.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
13 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined22 acresTalihina AgencyPICKENS #2

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in McCurtain County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Pickens: 4 past producers, 1 producer. 1 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Unknown Shale PitClayPast Producer
Unknown Shale PitClayPast Producer
Unknown Shale PitClayPast Producer
Unknown Shale PitClayPast Producer
Weyerhauser Co Shale PitClayProducer

Every working recorded in McCurtain County

Storms near this place

13 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Pickens in 13 storm reports between 1994 and 2022: 6 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 death and 1 injury. 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
November 2022Tornado (EF2)Pickens1 killed, 1 hurt, $300,000An EF-2 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 125 mph touched down in extreme Northwest McCurtain County near the Pickens community. The tornado touched down off of Pickens Road where it completed destroyed a chicken house, removed large sections of a roof of a home, and snapped multiple hardwood trees. The tornado then impacted a double-wide mobile home that was tied down with straps, which were snapped or footings pulled out of the ground. The mobile home was vaulted to the northwest and led to a fatality of a 90 year old male inside. A vehicle was also tossed and rolled at this location as well. The tornado continued moving northeast and uprooted multiple hardwood and softwood trees as it crossed Mount Zion Church Road, Glover Road, and Cedarwood Lane, before lifting near Coleman Road.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindPickens-A large tree was uprooted along Battiest Pickens Road.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindPickens-Metal roofing was peeled off of a few chicken houses just off of Battiest Pickens Road just east of the Pickens community.
April 2008Tornado (EF0)Pickens-An NWS survey and eyewitness reports confirmed that an EF0 rope tornado briefly touched down south of Pickens, Oklahoma. Only a few trees were damaged in an uninhabited area south of Pickens.
May 2008HailPickens-Hail fell just south of town.
September 2006Thunderstorm WindPickens-Trees were downed.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindPickens-Trees down blocking highway between Pickens and Battiest.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindPickens-Numerous large trees down.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindPickens-Skywarn spotter at a local convenience store reported numerous trees down.
May 2003HailPickens-no account filed
May 1999HailPickens-no account filed
March 1998HailPickens-no account filed
April 1994HailPickens-no account filed

Every storm recorded in McCurtain 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
Clebit0.6 miles15
Battiest4.6 miles19
Bethel9.6 miles19
Mount Herman12.2 miles19
Sherwood13.2 miles19
Ringold13.9 miles17
Alikchi16.4 miles17
Nani-chito19.4 miles16

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 PickensAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7190777The 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 1096612. 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.