BlockBefore

Kalama, Washington

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1921 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Kalama census division. It lies in ZIP code area 98625. The Survey maps it on the Kalama quadrangle. 2,959 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 39 feet above sea level.

Kalama within Cowlitz County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 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

129 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 129 fires within 5 miles of Kalama between 1992 and 2020, burning about 162 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 9 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 burning44
Missing data/not specified/undetermined27
Recreation and ceremony17
Smoking11
Arson/incendiarism9
Equipment and vehicle use8
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Natural2
Other causes2
Fireworks2
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
8 September 1998Smokingunder an acreColumbia City UnitNICOLAI ROAD #1
6 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersEMERALD 2
6 September 2003Recreation and ceremony1.5 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named
4 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersMILE POST 35
4 September 2003Recreation and ceremony3.0 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named
4 September 2000Debris and open burningunder an acreColumbia City UnitNICOLAI RD #1
30 September 2012Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersCAMPERS HOLE
3 September 1997Debris and open burningunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cowlitz County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 32 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 32 workings within 5 miles of Kalama: 24 past producers, 7 producers, 1 unknown. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Stone, Dimension. 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
Columbia West QuarryStone, DimensionProducer
Babler Bros.StonePast Producer
Bob Walker PitStonePast Producer
Goble QuarryStonePast Producer
Grahm Pit & PlantStonePast Producer
Longview FiberStonePast Producer
McateeStonePast Producer
Tide Creek RockStonePast Producer
Babler Bros.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Goble PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Cowlitz County

Storms near this place

5 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kalama in 5 storm reports between 2003 and 2019: 1 hail, 1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud, 1 heavy rain. The reports record 1 injury. 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 2003HailKalama1 hurtno account filed
June 2004Tornado (F0)Kalama$100Cowlitz county dispatch received several reports of a tornado that touched down on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, crossed the river to the mouth of the Kalama River as a waterspout, and moved onshore on the Washington side as a tornado. The tornado reportedly knocked down a tree on the Washington side before it dissipated.
February 2019FloodKalama-Both ramps of I-5 northbound at Kalama exit 30 were closed and under water. Many other roads in the area were under water. Rain and runoff also created problems for Kalamas water treatment plant, prompting the city to shut the plant down due to high turbidity from slides along Kalama River Road.
March 2017Heavy RainKalama-Heavy rain caused a landslide on Kalama River Road near Italian Creek Road, closing the road in both directions.
July 2016Funnel CloudKalama-A funnel cloud was observed by a NWS Employee from Interstate 5 near Kalama, Washington.

Every storm recorded in Cowlitz 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
Carrolls4.5 miles13
Vision Acres5.6 miles13
Rose Valley6.2 miles13
Longview Junction7.0 miles12
Caples7.5 miles18
Caples Landing7.5 miles18
Woodland8.9 miles14
Davis Terrace9.1 miles11

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 KalamaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1516195The 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 1512340. 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.