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Spray, Oregon

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Mitchell census division. It lies in ZIP code area 97874. It stands on Cry Creek. The Survey maps it on the Spray quadrangle. 139 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,772 feet above sea level.

Spray within Wheeler County

Population over time

3 figures

Spray fell from 140 to 139 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2000140
2010160+20 (+14%)
2020139-21 (-13%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 10 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

20 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 20 fires within 5 miles of Spray between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,943 acres in total. 12 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
Natural12
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Debris and open burning2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Recreation and ceremony1

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
6 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreOregon Department of Forestry Salem HeadquartersKAHLER BASIN
6 September 1992Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresJohn Day UnitDOWN LINE
8 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acrePrineville District0776
8 August 2008Natural12 acresJohn Day UnitSOURDOUGH
5 August 2019Natural15 acresPrineville DistrictSHADY GROVE
26 August 2013Natural3.4 acresOregon Department of Forestry Salem HeadquartersHIGH SPRING
25 August 2013Naturalunder an acreOregon Department of Forestry Salem HeadquartersHILL SPRING
17 August 2018Natural100 acresOregon Department of Forestry Salem HeadquartersRICKS CREEK

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Wheeler County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Spray: 5 past producers, 4 producers, 1 occurrence, 1 prospect. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Uranium. 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
UnknownUraniumOccurrence
Spray/Kimberly HwySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Spray/Kimberly Hwy PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Basalt QuarryStonePast Producer
Cripple Creek VienStone, Crushed/BrokenProspect
Mp 93.3 Spray/KimberlyStonePast Producer
Mp 93.3 Spray/Kimberly HwyStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Ordway PitStonePast Producer
Ordway PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
QuarryStonePast Producer

Every working recorded in Wheeler County

Storms near this place

11 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Spray in 11 storm reports between 1997 and 2020: 4 flood, 2 lightning, 2 flash flood, 2 hail. The reports record 1 death. 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
May 1997LightningSpray1 killedA man and the horse he was riding were killed when they were struck by lightning on May Ridge.
April 2019FloodSpray$1,000,000Numerous sections of Oregon Highway 19 and 207 were closed due to water over road and damage to road surfaces. Numerous county roads were damaged with rock and mudslides as well as plugged culverts. Flooding was reported in the city park in Spray.
April 2001Flash FloodSpray$5,000no account filed
March 2017FloodSpray-The John Day river near Service Creek, ( flood stage 11.5) crested at 12.0 feet at 1815 on March 16th, fell below flood stage and then rose again to 12.1 feet at 1900 on March 19th. Fell below flood stage 0600 on the 20th.
January 2011FloodSpray-Only minor flooding observed. The John Day River at Service Creek crested at 13.72 which was 2.22 feet above flood stage.
May 2011FloodSpray-The John Day River near Service Creek crested at 15.2 on May 17th, which was 3.7 feet above flood stage.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindSpray-Six large juniper trees were uprooted or split. Other trees lost large limbs. A 25 foot section of 1/8 inch steel panel was blown off a cow shelter.
August 2002Flash FloodSpray-Flash Flooding was reported between Spray and Service Creek.
July 2001LightningSpray-Lightning caused a 6000 acre fire that burned for around 5 days near Sentinal Peak.
May 2020HailSpray-no account filed
June 2015HailSpray-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wheeler 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
Service Creek11.6 miles11
Richmond12.7 miles10
Waldron (historical)14.5 miles12
Waterman (historical)15.7 miles10
Kinzua (historical)17.6 miles11
Lost Valley (historical)18.8 miles9
Twickenham21.0 miles12
Caleb (historical)22.3 miles10

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 SprayAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2050063The 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 1127403. 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.