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Alpha, Wisconsin

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1950 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Wood River town. It lies in ZIP code area 54840. The Survey maps it on the Falun quadrangle.

Alpha within Burnett County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 12 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

96 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 96 fires within 5 miles of Alpha between 1992 and 2020, burning about 139 acres in total. 10 started naturally. 11 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 burning32
Missing data/not specified/undetermined19
Equipment and vehicle use14
Arson/incendiarism11
Natural10
Recreation and ceremony3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Other causes2
Fireworks1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Smoking1

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 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesHAY WAGON FIRE
29 September 2012Debris and open burning1.1 acresWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesDEER STAND FIRE
14 September 2012Arson/incendiarismunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesWHISKEY CREEK
3 August 2008Naturalunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
22 August 2018Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesFALUN MEADOWS
22 August 2013Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 August 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 August 2007Natural2.1 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Burnett County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Alpha: 3 past producers, 2 occurrences. None of them still produces. 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
Mud Hen Lake Pit #3Sand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
North Rice Lake PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Peterson Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Spirit Lake PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
William Soderbeck PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Burnett County

Storms near this place

4 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alpha in 4 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. 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
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAlpha-County dispatch reported the power company had 15 power poles down along Crosstown Road east-southeast of Grantsburg.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindAlpha-Numerous trees were blown down.
June 2003HailAlpha-no account filed
August 1997Thunderstorm WindAlpha-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Burnett 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
Falun2.8 miles12
Grantsburg5.5 miles12
Trade Lake5.8 miles16
Branstad6.0 miles16
Four Corners7.0 miles16
Pole Cat Crossing9.4 miles16
Trade River9.9 miles16
Siren10.6 miles14

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1560802. 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.