Arcilla, California
44 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1997. It lies in ZIP code area 92883. It lies near Dawson Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Lake Mathews quadrangle. It stands 958 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1901 to 1997The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1901 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
17 surveys from 44 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1901 USGS Elsinore quadrangle1:125000, 8 printings
- 1901 USGS Riverside quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1901 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1942 USGS Riverside quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1943 USGS Riverside quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Lake Mathews quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Lake Mathews quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1974 USGS Lake Mathews quadrangle1:24000
- 1983 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:100000
- 1997 USGS Lake Mathews quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
528 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 528 fires within 5 miles of Arcilla between 1992 and 2020, burning about 33,631 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 43 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/undetermined | 207 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 171 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 43 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 34 |
| Smoking | 25 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 17 |
| Natural | 9 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 8 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Firearms and explosives use | 3 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Riverside Unit | MATHEWS |
| 8 September 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Riverside Unit | DAWSON |
| 8 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Riverside Unit | STATE#1413 |
| 8 September 1992 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Riverside Unit | STATE 1391 |
| 7 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Cleveland National Forest | MAITRI |
| 6 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Cleveland National Forest | TRILOGY |
| 6 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Riverside Unit | NB HWY 15 |
| 6 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | Riverside Unit | STATE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 81 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 81 workings within 5 miles of Arcilla: 43 past producers, 14 prospects, 13 occurrences, 10 producers. 10 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Tin, Silica. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cajalco Dumortierite Occurrence | Kyanite | Occurrence | ||
| Corona Pit | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Deposit | Stone, Dimension | Occurrence | ||
| Glen Ivy Hot Springs | Geothermal | Producer | ||
| Moore Deposit | Tin, Copper | Occurrence | Tourmaline | |
| Quincy Mine | Lead, Zinc, Silver | Prospect | ||
| Temescal Canyon Scheelite Occur. | Tungsten | Occurrence | ||
| Temescal Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Limestone Prospect | Limestone, Dimension | Occurrence | ||
| 6 Mine | Kaolin | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
13 since 2014Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Arcilla in 13 storm reports between 2014 and 2025: 5 heavy rain, 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 debris flow, 2 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Arcilla | $3,000 | The Lake Matthews Raws station reported a 67 mph gust between 1316 and 1416 PST. In Temescal Valley a large tree was blown down blocking the Knabe Rd. near Clay Canyon Dr. |
| September 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Arcilla | $500 | The Lake Matthews mesonet station reported a gust of 50 mph due to a thunderstorm, which knocked down a tree, blocking all lanes of Glen Ivy Road a few miles north of the mesonet. |
| February 2025 | Heavy Rain | Arcilla | - | Reported rainfall for past 36 hours of 3.45 inches. Had a brief high wind event for about 20 min. |
| March 2023 | Heavy Rain | Arcilla | - | A trained spotter near Temesecal Valley reported storm total rainfall of 1.37 inches. |
| March 2022 | Heavy Rain | Arcilla | - | Spotter reported storm total rainfall of 0.76 inch. |
| September 2022 | Flash Flood | Arcilla | - | CHP report of a driver stuck in flash flooding with water coming into the vehicle. |
| December 2021 | Heavy Rain | Arcilla | - | Trained spotter reports 2.65 inches of storm total rainfall. |
| January 2019 | Flash Flood | Arcilla | - | CalTrans reported Temescal Canyon Road at I-15 south closed due to flooding. |
| March 2019 | Heavy Rain | Arcilla | - | Rainfall rates of 0.71/hr were reported at Temescal Canyon, which is the highest hourly rainfall rate of the winter season for that canyon. In 30 minutes, 0.59 fell over Temescal Canyon. Lanes were flooded and debris was on the roadway on Temescal Canyon Road near the intersection on I-15. |
| December 2018 | Debris Flow | Arcilla | - | Mud and debris forced the closure of Temescal Canyon Road on December 6th due to heavy rain. |
| November 2018 | Debris Flow | Arcilla | - | CalFire reported water and debris from Coldwater Canyon flowing over into Glen Ivy Road. |
| November 2018 | Debris Flow | Arcilla | - | Riverside County Emergency Management reported water and rocks in the road near Temescal Canyon. |
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Arcilla | - | A downburst from a severe thunderstorm over Temescal Valley produced a 65 mph wind gust at a RAWS station. |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temescal | 1.5 miles | 44 | |
| Weisel | 2.1 miles | 44 | |
| El Cerrito | 4.6 miles | 39 | |
| Alberhill | 5.7 miles | 37 | |
| Gavilan Hills | 5.8 miles | 40 | |
| Pepper Corner | 6.0 miles | 39 | |
| Santa Rosa Ranch Estates | 6.7 miles | 40 | |
| Home Gardens | 6.9 miles | 38 |
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.
| Wikidata item Q4787392 | The 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 1660263. 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.
















