Early Branch, South Carolina
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1918 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Yemassee census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29916. The Survey maps it on the McPhersonville quadrangle. It stands 69 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 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.
- 1918 USGS Yemassee quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1943 USGS Yemassee quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1947 USGS Savannah quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS Savannah quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Savannah quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Savannah quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Savannah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Walterboro quadrangle1:100000
- 1988 USGS Mc Phersonville quadrangle1:24000
- 1990 USGS Walterboro quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
315 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 315 fires within 5 miles of Early Branch between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,709 acres in total. 11 started naturally. 78 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 106 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 95 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 78 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 16 |
| Natural | 11 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 September 2001 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 September 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 September 2000 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 September 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 14 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 12 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 9 August 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 August 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
20 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Early Branch in 20 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 14 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 tornado, 1 lightning. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | $5,000 | Trees and powerlines down. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | $3,000 | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | $1,000 | SC Highway Patrol reported a tree down and in the roadway on Davidson Tower Road near the intersection with Yemassee Highway. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | $1,000 | Public reported several trees and power lines down on Ridgecut Road near Yemassee. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | $1,000 | The Hampton County 911 Dispatch Center reported a tree down near the intersection of Ficken Road and Old Salkehatchie Road, 2 miles east of Early Branch, South Carolina. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | $500 | One tree was reported down across a road in Early Branch, South Carolina. |
| July 2025 | Heavy Rain | Early Branch | - | Hampton County Emergency Management reported a multi-vehicle crash near mile marker 41 on Interstate 95 that resulted in 2 fatalities and 26 injuries, 10 of which required hospitalization. South Carolina Highway Patrol confirmed that the crash involved 13 total vehicles, including 6 that were semi-trucks or other commercial vehicles. The cause of the crash was determined to be heavy rainfall which produced very low visibility. Southbound lanes of Interstate 95 were closed for nearly 12 hours due to the crash. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | - | The Hampton County 911 Call Center reported a tree down on Possum Corner near the intersection with Yemassee Highway. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | - | Hampton County dispatch reported a tree down along the 700 block of Anna Laurel Road. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | - | The Hampton County 911 Call Center reported a tree down on Ridgecut Road. |
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | - | The South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down on Old Salkehatchie Highway between Ram Horn Road and Anna Laurel Road. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | - | South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down at the intersection of Yemassee Highway and Possum Corner Road. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | - | South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down on Old Salkehatchie Highway near the intersection with Mt. Olive Road. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | - | Law enforcement reported a tree down near the intersection of Highway 68 and Bob Gifford Boulevard. |
| August 2013 | Hail | Early Branch | - | The Hampton County Emergency Manager relayed a report of one inch hail in Early Branch. |
| September 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Early Branch | - | A weak tornado knocked down several trees. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Early Branch | - | Several trees were knocked down along Interstate 95. |
| June 2000 | Lightning | Early Branch | - | Lightning caused several fires. |
| June 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Early Branch | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Early Branch | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson | 2.0 miles | 19 | |
| Fechtig | 2.5 miles | 16 | |
| Barkerville | 2.8 miles | 19 | |
| McPhersonville | 3.7 miles | 19 | |
| Cummings | 4.4 miles | 16 | |
| Blountville | 5.3 miles | 19 | |
| Yemassee | 5.6 miles | 19 | |
| Horsegall | 6.1 miles | 16 |
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 Early Branch | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q30621938 | 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 1231252. 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.
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.









