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Big Sandy, Texas

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1956 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Big Sandy census division. It lies in ZIP code area 75755. The Survey maps it on the Big Sandy quadrangle. 1,231 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 367 feet above sea level.

Big Sandy within Upshur County

Population over time

2 figures

Big Sandy fell from 1,343 to 1,231 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
20101,343
20201,231-112 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 13 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

303 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 303 fires within 5 miles of Big Sandy between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,335 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 10 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/undetermined58
Equipment and vehicle use18
Power generation/transmission/distribution14
Arson/incendiarism10
Railroad operations and maintenance10
Natural6
Recreation and ceremony5
Smoking3
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
9 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceSMITH 15:15
9 September 2012Railroad operations and maintenance1.5 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceSEPT09-2012A
9 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServicePERSIMMON
6 September 2000Railroad operations and maintenance15 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceLINDEN - 377
5 September 2013Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Service5698 FM 155
5 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceDIAL RD
5 September 2009Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service18373 CR 3132
4 September 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceSEP04-2014

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Upshur County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Big Sandy: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Big Sandy Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Big Sandy Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Upshur County

Storms near this place

34 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Big Sandy in 34 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 14 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood. 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
June 2011Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy$50,000A large tree was downed onto a home near Tyler Street in Big Sandy. The occupants were trapped inside. There were no report of injuries. Numerous powerlines were also downed across the city.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy$50,000Downed trees were reported in town. One tree crushed a tree at the end of Pearl Street near Hwy 155. One tree fell on a home in Big Sandy as well. Several power poles were downed along Pearl Street. Another tree was reported down across Wildcat Drive.
April 1995Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy$25,000Numerous trees were blown down, some onto houses and across roads and streets.
July 1997Flash FloodBig Sandy$15,000Hwy 80 was closed from Big Sandy to Gladewater due to heavy flooding throughout the area. Minor damage also occurred to the road.
April 2008Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy$5,000A portable building was blown over.
February 1997Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy$3,000no account filed
June 2023Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy-Multiple large hardwood trees uprooted in Big Sandy.
December 2012Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy-A tree was downed in Big Sandy on Hwy. 155.
May 2011HailBig Sandy-Quarter size hail was reported in Big Sandy, Texas.
June 2010Flash FloodBig Sandy-Numerous roads were flooded and closed throughout the county.
October 2009Flash FloodBig Sandy-River Road near the Smith/Upshur County line was closed due to 2 feet of water over the road.
October 2009Flash FloodBig Sandy-Several county roads were closed due to excessive heavy rainfall.
June 2007Flash FloodBig Sandy-Intersection of Highway 1002 and Aspen Road underwater and closed.
April 2007HailBig Sandy-Hail fell at FM 1002 and 155.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy-Numerous trees, as many as 50, were downed south of town.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy-Numerous trees down across the southwest portion of the county.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy-Several large trees down.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy-Several large trees and power lines down.
March 1999Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy-Several powerlines toppled.
October 1998Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy-Trees and powerlines toppled along Hwy 80.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindBig Sandy-Several trees and power lines were toppled resulting in power outages.
April 2007HailBig Sandy-no account filed
April 2007HailBig Sandy-no account filed
June 2004HailBig Sandy-no account filed
March 1999HailBig Sandy-no account filed
March 1999HailBig Sandy-no account filed
May 1999HailBig Sandy-no account filed
January 1998HailBig Sandy-no account filed
February 1997Flash FloodBig Sandy-no account filed
April 1997HailBig Sandy-no account filed
April 1997HailBig Sandy-no account filed
July 1996HailBig Sandy-no account filed
April 1996HailBig Sandy-no account filed
April 1993HailBig Sandy-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Upshur 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
Center Point5.1 miles13
Wilkins5.6 miles13
Shady Grove6.9 miles13
Pritchett7.2 miles13
Phillips7.8 miles12
Latch8.1 miles13
Mings Chapel9.1 miles12
Union Grove10.0 miles12

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 Big SandyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q859252The 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 1330639. 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.