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Oracle, Arizona

20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1911 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the San Manuel census division. It lies in ZIP code area 85623. It lies near Alto Hill. The Survey maps it on the Oracle quadrangle. 3,051 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,524 feet above sea level.

Oracle within Pinal County

On record in Oracle

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 6 records

Population over time

2 figures

Oracle fell from 3,686 to 3,051 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
20103,686
20203,051-635 (-17%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 20 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

79 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 79 fires within 5 miles of Oracle between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,045 acres in total. 18 started naturally. 5 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined37
Natural18
Debris and open burning7
Smoking6
Arson/incendiarism5
Equipment and vehicle use3
Misuse of fire by a minor3

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 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State OfficeFALCON
3 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreOracle Volunteer Fire Districtnot named
3 September 1996Smokingunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
12 September 2016Naturalunder an acreCoronado National ForestCOD RANCH
9 August 1995Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
5 August 1993Natural10 acresCoronado National ForestJINKS
4 August 2001Naturalunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State OfficeALTO
27 August 2015Naturalunder an acreCoronado National ForestPALISADES

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pinal County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 44 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 44 workings within 5 miles of Oracle: 23 past producers, 8 prospects, 8 occurrences, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Tungsten, Copper, Lead, Silver. 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
American FlagStone, Tungsten, Copper, Gold, Lead, Molybdenum, VanadiumPast Producer
American Flag MineSilver, Copper, Lead, GoldProducer1901, 1961
Bear Cat ClaimsTungsten, Silver, Vanadium, Molybdenum, GoldPast Producer1939
BurneyLead, Silver, Zinc, Copper, Gold, Molybdenum, TungstenPast Producer
Burney MinesSilver, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Gold, ManganeseProducer1947, 1967
Campo Bonito GroupTungsten, Gold, Lead, MolybdenumPast Producer1908
Cody TunnelTungsten, GoldPast ProducerGold, Scheelite
Copper Belle ClaimsGold, Silver, Copper, MolybdenumOccurrence
Copper Belle PropertyGold, Molybdenum, Copper, SilverOccurrence
Irene WashVermiculiteOccurrenceMetamorphic

Every working recorded in Pinal County

Storms near this place

32 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oracle in 32 storm reports between 1993 and 2022: 10 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 9 flash flood, 2 lightning. The reports record 1 death. 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
August 2003Flash FloodOracle1 killed, $50,000Around 1.50 to 1.75 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes, with isolated reports of 1.90 inches. The Bonito Wash flooded several homes in the Campo Bonito area. Along the Canada del Oro Wash, the Rancho Solano gauge recorded a 9 foot rise of water. Several houses sustained flood damage. To compound the problem of the fast rising water, two culverts at a bridge downstream became blocked.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindOracle$100,000Thunderstorms moving into Oracle resulted in trees and power lines downed across a roadway. The most extensive damage was a roof blown off of a home located on Bonito Drive in Oracle.
August 2003Flash FloodOracle$50,000Numerous streets flooded in Oracle, along with a swift water rescue. The gage at Oracle Ridge recorded 0.94 inches in 30 minutes. Over 40 homes were evacuated in the Catalina area along the Canada del Oro Wash.
August 2016Flash FloodOracle$40,000Heavy rain caused ponding of water along Highway 79 north of Park Link Drive, and caused Durham Wash and other small washes to flow across the highway, making it impassable for 2 hours. Farther south, heavy rain also occurred near I-10 along the Pinal/Pima county line. Flash flooding occurred at Pinal Air Park, where flood waters entered several buildings. Runoff flooded small washes near Red Rock and washed out Sasco Road at the Santa Cruz River.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindOracle$30,000Power lines were downed by high winds in Oracle.
September 2021Thunderstorm WindOracle$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed several trees in Saddlebrooke One and blew numerous roof tiles off one residence.
July 2021LightningOracle$5,000Lightning started a small fire at a residence in the Saddlebrooke area.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindOracle$2,000Several small trees were uprooted in Saddlebrooke.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindOracle$2,000Thunderstorm winds downed 2 power poles in the town of Oracle.
July 2014LightningOracle$1,000Lightning incinerated a palm tree in Saddlebrook.
July 2010Flash FloodOracle$1,000Thunderstorms produced torrential rainfall on the north side of the Catalina Mountains, producing flash flooding. Rainfall estimates were locally as high as six inches in portions of southeast Pinal County, specifically near Camp Bonito. Law enforcement barricaded Mt. Lemmon and Peppersauce Roads due to flash flooding. A trained spotter measured 2.40 inches of rain 4 miles southeast of Oracle.
September 1998Thunderstorm WindOracle$1,000no account filed
September 2022Thunderstorm WindOracle$500Thunderstorm winds downed large tree limbs in Saddlebrooke.
August 2022Flash FloodOracle-Heavy rain of 2 in 1 hour in Oracle caused extensive street flooding throughout the town.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindOracle-A trained spotter estimated 70 mph wind gusts in Catalina.
August 2021Flash FloodOracle-Two to three inches in one hour caused flash flooding of washes and several road closures in Oracle.
September 2016HailOracle-Golfball size hail was reported in Oracle.
August 2014HailOracle-Two spotters in Oracle reported a maximum hail size of one inch, mixed in with smaller pieces. Hail fell for about 20 minutes.
September 2005Flash FloodOracle-Motorist trapped on Old Web Road between Peppersauce and Alder washes due to flooding. All roads intersecting those washes were closed.
August 2003Flash FloodOracle-Several homes near Golder Ranch Road were impacted when water in Canada del Oro wash rose 2 to 6 feet. A gauge near Oracle Ridge reported 1.10 inches of rain.
August 1993Tornado (F0)Oracle-This short-lived tornado over a remote area was observed by a tornado chaser. It touched down and lifted up several times, with lots of desert debris in the funnel.
July 2022HailOracle-no account filed
September 2022HailOracle-no account filed
August 2021HailOracle-no account filed
September 2016HailOracle-no account filed
August 2015Funnel CloudOracle-no account filed
July 2012HailOracle-no account filed
July 2012HailOracle-no account filed
September 2011HailOracle-no account filed
August 2002HailOracle-no account filed
August 2001Flash FloodOracle-no account filed
August 1997Thunderstorm WindOracle-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pinal 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
Highjinks3.2 miles28
Campo Bonito3.7 miles28
Casa del Oro4.5 miles20
San Manuel7.5 miles28
Saddle Brooke7.6 miles20
Fordville7.6 miles25
Tiger8.2 miles25
Oracle Junction9.4 miles21

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 OracleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2740714The 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 32541. 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.