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Olanta, South Carolina

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1946 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Olanta census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29114. The Survey maps it on the Olanta quadrangle. 550 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 112 feet above sea level.

Olanta within Florence County

Population over time

2 figures

Olanta fell from 563 to 550 between 2010 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
2010563
2020550-13 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 8 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

462 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 462 fires within 5 miles of Olanta between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,459 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 122 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 burning178
Missing data/not specified/undetermined127
Arson/incendiarism122
Equipment and vehicle use12
Misuse of fire by a minor9
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Smoking4
Natural2
Fireworks2
Other causes1
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
7 September 2007Debris and open burning1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1997Debris and open burning1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1999Debris and open burning3.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 2009Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 2007Debris and open burning3.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
3 September 1999Debris and open burning2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
29 September 2009Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
26 September 1998Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Florence County

Storms near this place

19 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Olanta in 19 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 10 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 1 heavy rain, 1 tornado. 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
April 2019Tornado (EF0)Olanta$50,000The brief EF-0 tornado touched down south of Woods Bay Rd and west|of Highway 31 near Olanta, SC. The tornado moved toward the |north-northeast and prior to crossing Woods Bay Rd caused minor |damage to a house, lifted a large roof off of a large outbuilding|and shed, and caused several trees to be uprooted. The tornado|crossed Woods Bay Rd causing some damage to trees as it lifted in|the vicinity of Douglas Swamp.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindOlanta$17,000A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team concluded straight-line winds to 65 mph caused minor roof damage to several homes along Moore Street. In addition, numerous large tree limbs were broken. The time was estimated based on radar data.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindOlanta$2,000A tree was reported down across a power line near the intersection of Olanta Highway and Old Number 4 Highway.
August 2024Flash FloodOlanta$1,000Video showed flash flooding covering Baker Street at the intersection with North Jones Road.
March 2018Thunderstorm WindOlanta$1,000A tree was reported down on U.S. 301 near Olanta Elementary School. The time was estimated based on radar data.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindOlanta$1,000A tree was reported down at the intersection of McKenzie Road and S Scurry Road.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindOlanta$1,000A tree was reportedly down on Highway 403.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindOlanta$1,000A tree was reported down at the intersection of Highway 301 and N Iris Road.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindOlanta$500A tree was blown down on Park Avenue.
June 2016HailOlanta$500Hail to the size of quarters was reported.
July 2012HailOlanta$250Hail to the size of nickels was reported.
June 2025HailOlanta-Hail estimated at nickel to quarter size briefly fell near this location.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindOlanta-Tree down on house on Carmon Scranton Road in Olanta.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindOlanta-Several trees were blown down in the Olanta area.
June 2009HailOlanta-Hail to the size of golf balls was reported along SC-403. The report was relayed via the 911 Center.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOlanta-Several reports of trees down across town. Report was relayed via the 911 Center.
October 2002HailOlanta-Nickle size hail reported by 911.
October 2002Heavy RainOlanta-Ahead of approaching tropical storm Kyle, heavy rains moved into Florence and Williamsburg Counties from the west and continued into Georgetown County...causing widespread ponding on roads. In the city of Florence, 10 car accidents were attributed to minor flooding between 10 and 11 AM EST.
March 1999HailOlanta-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Florence 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
Mimms Crossroads1.1 miles8
McKenzie Crossroads2.0 miles8
Motts Crossroads3.3 miles8
Byrds Crossroads3.7 miles8
Camp Branch6.4 miles8
Salem7.0 miles8
Hamville (historical)7.1 miles10
Sardis7.3 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 OlantaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2354434The 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 1249947. 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.