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Baldwin Lake, California

39 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Big Bear census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92314. It lies near Nelson Ridge. The Survey maps it on the Big Bear City quadrangle.

Baldwin Lake within San Bernardino County

Then and now

1901 to 1996

The same ground, surveyed 95 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Baldwin Lake, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Baldwin Lake, surveyed 1901

Compare 1901 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 39 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

406 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 406 fires within 5 miles of Baldwin Lake between 1992 and 2020, burning about 26,113 acres in total. 91 started naturally. 18 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/undetermined176
Natural91
Recreation and ceremony45
Misuse of fire by a minor22
Equipment and vehicle use19
Arson/incendiarism18
Debris and open burning11
Smoking10
Other causes7
Fireworks4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3

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 2015Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestVANDUSEN
8 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestMAPLE
8 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestSAND
5 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSan Bernardino UnitIMPERIAL AV SUGARLOAF 2
5 September 2001Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestCOUGAR
4 September 2003Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestPARK
4 September 2000Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestIRWIN
30 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestCLARK

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Bernardino County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 60 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 60 workings within 5 miles of Baldwin Lake: 22 past producers, 18 occurrences, 12 prospects, 6 unknowns. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Tungsten, Gold, Silver, Lead, Copper. 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
Blue Boy QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast Producer
Cactus FlatLead, Copper, SilverProspect
Carbonate MineLead, Silver, ZincPast Producer
Gold Hill MineGold, Silver, Copper, LeadPast Producer
H. L. Brown Desert View ClaimsBerylliumProspect
HilltopGold, Copper, LeadPast Producer
Mohawk GroupLead, Zinc, Silver, Iron, CopperPast ProducerVein
Red JacketLead, Copper, Gold, SilverOccurrence
Scotty WilsonSilver, Zinc, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Scotty Wilson MineZinc, Lead, SilverPast Producer

Every working recorded in San Bernardino County

Storms near this place

9 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Baldwin Lake in 9 storm reports between 2007 and 2024: 4 flash flood, 2 flood, 2 debris flow, 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 2024FloodBaldwin Lake$10,000Thunderstorms produced 1 to 2 inches in rain in about 2 hours. 1.11 inches between 3 and 4 pm PDT on July 14. Mud and rock debris flow affect State Route 38 near Onyx Peak reported at 630 pm PDT. Baldwin Lake weather station report 1.06 inches in 90 minutes at 345 pm July 14.
August 2007Flash FloodBaldwin Lake$5,000Fast flowing rivers of water and debris were reported on highways 18 and 38 near Baldwin Lake by San Bernardino County Flood Control. The same complex of thunderstorms that caused the flash flooding left vast swaths of hail on the ground, especially in the higher terrain of the San Gorgonio Wilderness.
April 2019HailBaldwin Lake$100Graupel/hail reported near Onyx Peak in the San Bernardino Mountains around 10 AM PST on April 29th.
April 2020Debris FlowBaldwin Lake-Large rocks in lane on Highway 38.
August 2018Debris FlowBaldwin Lake-CHP reported a rock/dirt/mud slide along Highway 38 between Onyx Peak and the town of Sugarloaf. Law enforcement indicated that the road was covered in rocks. No injuries or damages reported.
July 2016FloodBaldwin Lake-Flooding was reported along Arastre Road in Baldwin Lake.
September 2013Flash FloodBaldwin Lake-California Highway Patrol reported water quickly running across Bessemer Mine Road and Highway 247 about 50 feet wide.
July 2012Flash FloodBaldwin Lake-CHP reported large rocks as well as 4 to 6 inches of water across State Route 18 at Cactus Road.|A nearby rain gauge at Baldwin lake recorded 0.92 inches in one hour between 0400 and 0500 PST.
August 2012Flash FloodBaldwin Lake-Very heavy rainfall in the Big Bear area began around 1045 PST, resulting in minor street flooding in Big Bear City, as well as flash flooding along Highway 38 at mile marker 19. Cal Trans and CHP closed Highway 38 at this point due to a stream of water rushing down the road with embedded boulders. |A nearby spotter measured rainfall of 0.16 inches in 10 minutes and 0.95 inches in one hour, along with pea sized hail.

Every storm recorded in San Bernardino 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
Doble1.9 miles39
Woodlands2.4 miles34
Big Bear City2.8 miles39
Sugarloaf3.0 miles34
Moonridge4.3 miles34
Minnelusa5.1 miles35
Cushenbury6.1 miles39
Big Bear Lake6.5 miles36

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1841816. 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.