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Bakersfield, California

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Bakersfield census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93301. The Survey maps it on the Gosford quadrangle. 403,455 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 404 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Bakersfield within Kern County

Then and now

1910 to 1981

The same ground, surveyed 71 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Bakersfield, surveyed 1981
Topographic sheet of Bakersfield, surveyed 1910

On record in Bakersfield

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 8 records

Population over time

2 figures

Bakersfield grew from 347,483 to 403,455 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
2010347,483
2020403,455+55,972 (+16%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 27 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

729 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 729 fires within 5 miles of Bakersfield between 1996 and 2020, burning about 895 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 117 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/undetermined486
Arson/incendiarism117
Equipment and vehicle use55
Misuse of fire by a minor37
Smoking18
Debris and open burning11
Natural2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Recreation and ceremony1

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 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKern County Fire Departmentnot named
9 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2020Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreKern County Fire Departmentnot named
8 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresKern County Fire Departmentnot named
8 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2009Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Bakersfield: 8 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, Silica, 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
China Grade FlatsGold, SilverPast Producer
Griffith Construction Co. PitSand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, SilverPast Producer
Kern River PitSilicaPast Producer
Klondike GroupGoldProducer
County PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Kern River Commun Use PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Kern River PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Thomas Construction Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unnamed QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Webster Sand Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Kern County

Storms near this place

48 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bakersfield in 48 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 14 flood, 11 heavy rain, 5 hail, 4 wildfire. The reports record 2 injuries. 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 1997WildfireBakersfield1 hurt, $400,000Two homes destroyed and 4000 acres of grassland were burned.
May 1998LightningBakersfield1 hurtWhile on the phone an office manager was mildly electrocuted due to a nearby lightning strike and the resulting electrical surge through the phone line.
January 2011FloodBakersfield$12,700,000Kern County estimated damage from the storms of December 17th to January 2nd at 12.7 million dollars.
February 1998Heavy RainBakersfield$12,500,000no account filed
June 2001WildfireBakersfield$565,000The Democrat Wildfire was ignited by unknown cause and burned 550 acres before being contained with no fatalities or structures lost. The cost to contain was $565K.
May 1998Flash FloodBakersfield$250,000no account filed
March 1997FloodBakersfield$150,000no account filed
June 2002WildfireBakersfield$110,000The Rocky Fire originated from unknown causes and burned 498 acres. No structures were lost nor were there any fatalities or injuries.
May 1998FloodBakersfield$100,000no account filed
June 2003WildfireBakersfield$55,000The Shallock Fire was of human origin and burned about 564 acres before containment. No structure was lost nor were injuries or fatalities reported.
February 2010Heavy RainBakersfield$50,000Local media reported 1 foot deep water due to heavy rainfall at Airport Dr just north of State Rd. Three vehicles encountered the deep water and become stuck. Street flooding also reported on Fairfax Rd at Brundage Ave.
March 1997LightningBakersfield$50,000no account filed
February 2014Thunderstorm WindBakersfield$35,000A large tree was uprooted and totaled a car due to thunderstorm winds. Location was at Jenkins and Rosedale.
November 2002FloodBakersfield$23,000no account filed
February 1997Tornado (F0)Bakersfield$10,000no account filed
March 2012FloodBakersfield$6,000California highway patrol reported flooding on Michelle Avenue at Shawn Street.
April 1999Tornado (F0)Bakersfield$3,000With strong gradient wind and some convective activity, a cold air funnel touched down briefly in Southeast Bakersfield near Pacheco Road and Kaiser Court. A few small trees were downed along with damage to a small shed.
February 2023FloodBakersfield-California Highway Patrol reported all lanes of eastbound SR 178 at Union Ave in Bakersfield were flooded. Several vehicles hydroplaned.
January 2018FloodBakersfield-Pictures indicating roadway flooding in downtown Bakersfield near the intersection on Union Ave. and Truxton Ave. were received on Facebook and Twitter.
January 2018FloodBakersfield-Pictures indicating roadway flooding on 23rd St. in downtown Bakersfield were received on Facebook and Twitter.
January 2018FloodBakersfield-Pictures indicating the courthouse parking lot in Bakersfield was flooded were received on Facebook and Twitter.
January 2015Heavy RainBakersfield-Rainfall amounts of 0.5 to 1 inch in 24 hours over the Kern county produced ponding of water/flooding on roadways in the south end of the San Joaquin Valley, in and south of Bakersfield. The flooded areas included part of Highway 99 between Rosedale Highway and Olive Drive in Bakersfield and Highway 119 near Buena Vista.
February 2015Heavy RainBakersfield-Rainfall amounts of 0.4 to 0.85 inches reported across the City of Bakersfield, including 0.52 inches at Meadows Field Airport. Rainfall resulted in ponding of water on roadways.
November 2014Heavy RainBakersfield-Roadway flooding due to heavy rain. Estimated rainfall 0.75 inches.
October 2014Heavy RainBakersfield-Roadway flooding due to heavy rain. Estimated rainfall 0.75 inches.
November 2013FloodBakersfield-Law enforcement reported flooding at Tulare St and Columbus St.
November 2013Heavy RainBakersfield-Downtown Bakersfield had heavy rain with a total of 0.45 inches reported by local media outlets.
October 2004Funnel CloudBakersfield-Several spotter reports seem to indicate a funnel cloud passed over Bakersfield from the WNW early in the afternoon of the 20th.
July 2001Flash FloodBakersfield-Spotter reports confirmed radar imagery that thunderstorm activity, from the Mexican Monsoon, brought very heavy rain to areas north of Bakersfield in the foothills on the western face of the Southern Sierra Nevada. Drainage ditches all filled on mountain roads with creeks rapidly rising to full. Rainfall rates reached 1.5-2.0"/hour in the area approximately 10 miles north of Bakersfield to 23 miles east of Delano in Kern County. In the 24 hour period ending at 5 PM PDT on the 6th, Valley floor rain amounts included 0.07" at Madera, Visalia 0.01", Porterville 0.08", with an unofficial report of up to 2" of rain between 1530-1700 PDT 10 miles north of Bakersfield to the Tulare County line.
January 1999Funnel CloudBakersfield-Trained spotter reported two funnels at this location.
April 1998FloodBakersfield-While rains have stopped and temperatures climbed to near normal for a period in late April, the winter and spring's above normal rainfall/snowfall is resulting in not only rainfall runoff, some snowmelt contributions, but "springing" into the South Valley stream group of Caliente, Tejoh, sycomore, El Paso, and San Emigdio Creeks at the rate of 120CFS. Damage was sustained on roads and property with water collecting in low-lying areas, such as the ancient Kern Lake bed. As of late April 2,000 acres of farmland was under water in the South San Joaquin Valley in the area southeast of Bakersfield. As of April 27th the snowpack water content in the Southern Sierra Nevada was 190% of normal. From the Kern County Ag Commissioner's Office, data indicates that 75,000 to 100,000 acres of cotton may not be planted in Kern County due to the wet and cool field conditions.
February 1998Flash FloodBakersfield-Heavy rainfall led to runoff and water over State Highway 166...a road typically affected by this type of runoff scenario.
March 1998HailBakersfield-As reported by California Highway Patrol between Laval Road and the scales on Interstate-5 at the base of the grapevine. 40-50 cars pulled over to wait for the storm to diminish.
December 1995HailEast Bakersfield-The SVR issued based on radar information, as previously described, for the period from 1519 PST until 1600 PST did provide some lead time. Additional one-inch hail was reported at 1530 PST in East Bakersfield by Kern County Emergency Management to NWSO San Joaquin Valley.
March 2005Heavy RainBakersfield-no account filed
December 2005Heavy RainBakersfield-no account filed
December 2003Heavy RainBakersfield-no account filed
March 2001LightningBakersfield-no account filed
March 2001FloodBakersfield-no account filed
November 2001FloodBakersfield-no account filed
April 2000High WindBakersfield-no account filed
September 1998LightningBakersfield-no account filed
May 1998Heavy RainBakersfield-no account filed
March 1998FloodBakersfield-no account filed
February 1997HailBakersfield-no account filed
March 1997HailBakersfield-no account filed
November 1996Tornado (F0)Bakersfield-no account filed
October 1996HailBakersfield-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Kern 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
Benton Park1.9 miles27
Kern2.0 miles34
Kayandee2.2 miles29
La Cresta2.3 miles34
Landco2.3 miles33
Old Stine2.3 miles27
East Bakersfield2.4 miles34
Casa Loma2.5 miles29

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 BakersfieldAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q49256The 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 1652668. 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.