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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.

Early Branch within Hampton County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 19 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

315 since 1992

Regional 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 burning106
Missing data/not specified/undetermined95
Arson/incendiarism78
Equipment and vehicle use16
Natural11
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Smoking2
Railroad operations and maintenance2

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
29 September 2001Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
27 September 2006Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
20 September 2000Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
17 September 2008Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
14 September 1998Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
12 September 2011Debris and open burning1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
9 August 2006Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
5 August 2006Debris and open burning1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Hampton County

Storms near this place

20 since 1995

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2006Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch$5,000Trees and powerlines down.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch$3,000no account filed
July 2012Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch$1,000SC Highway Patrol reported a tree down and in the roadway on Davidson Tower Road near the intersection with Yemassee Highway.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch$1,000Public reported several trees and power lines down on Ridgecut Road near Yemassee.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch$1,000The 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 2008Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch$500One tree was reported down across a road in Early Branch, South Carolina.
July 2025Heavy RainEarly 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 2025Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch-The Hampton County 911 Call Center reported a tree down on Possum Corner near the intersection with Yemassee Highway.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch-Hampton County dispatch reported a tree down along the 700 block of Anna Laurel Road.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch-The Hampton County 911 Call Center reported a tree down on Ridgecut Road.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch-The South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down on Old Salkehatchie Highway between Ram Horn Road and Anna Laurel Road.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch-South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down at the intersection of Yemassee Highway and Possum Corner Road.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch-South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down on Old Salkehatchie Highway near the intersection with Mt. Olive Road.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch-Law enforcement reported a tree down near the intersection of Highway 68 and Bob Gifford Boulevard.
August 2013HailEarly Branch-The Hampton County Emergency Manager relayed a report of one inch hail in Early Branch.
September 2004Tornado (F0)Early Branch-A weak tornado knocked down several trees.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindEarly Branch-Several trees were knocked down along Interstate 95.
June 2000LightningEarly Branch-Lightning caused several fires.
June 2001Tornado (F0)Early Branch-no account filed
June 2000HailEarly Branch-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Hampton 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
Davidson2.0 miles19
Fechtig2.5 miles16
Barkerville2.8 miles19
McPhersonville3.7 miles19
Cummings4.4 miles16
Blountville5.3 miles19
Yemassee5.6 miles19
Horsegall6.1 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 Early BranchAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q30621938The 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.