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.
Then and now
1901 to 1996The 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.


Compare 1901 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
14 surveys from 39 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 Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1902 USGS San Gorgonio quadrangle1:125000, 8 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1947 USGS Lucerne Valley quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1949 USGS Lucerne Valley quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1966 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Big Bear City quadrangle1:24000, 7 printings
- 1982 USGS Big Bear Lake quadrangle1:100000
- 1996 USGS Big Bear City quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
406 since 1992Regional 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/undetermined | 176 |
| Natural | 91 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 45 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 22 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 19 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 18 |
| Debris and open burning | 11 |
| Smoking | 10 |
| Other causes | 7 |
| Fireworks | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
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 2015 | Natural | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | VANDUSEN |
| 8 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | MAPLE |
| 8 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | SAND |
| 5 September 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Bernardino Unit | IMPERIAL AV SUGARLOAF 2 |
| 5 September 2001 | Natural | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | COUGAR |
| 4 September 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | PARK |
| 4 September 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | IRWIN |
| 30 September 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | CLARK |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 60 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Boy Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | ||
| Cactus Flat | Lead, Copper, Silver | Prospect | ||
| Carbonate Mine | Lead, Silver, Zinc | Past Producer | ||
| Gold Hill Mine | Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead | Past Producer | ||
| H. L. Brown Desert View Claims | Beryllium | Prospect | ||
| Hilltop | Gold, Copper, Lead | Past Producer | ||
| Mohawk Group | Lead, Zinc, Silver, Iron, Copper | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Red Jacket | Lead, Copper, Gold, Silver | Occurrence | ||
| Scotty Wilson | Silver, Zinc, Lead | Past Producer | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | |
| Scotty Wilson Mine | Zinc, Lead, Silver | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
9 since 2007Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2024 | Flood | Baldwin Lake | $10,000 | Thunderstorms 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 2007 | Flash Flood | Baldwin Lake | $5,000 | Fast 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 2019 | Hail | Baldwin Lake | $100 | Graupel/hail reported near Onyx Peak in the San Bernardino Mountains around 10 AM PST on April 29th. |
| April 2020 | Debris Flow | Baldwin Lake | - | Large rocks in lane on Highway 38. |
| August 2018 | Debris Flow | Baldwin 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 2016 | Flood | Baldwin Lake | - | Flooding was reported along Arastre Road in Baldwin Lake. |
| September 2013 | Flash Flood | Baldwin Lake | - | California Highway Patrol reported water quickly running across Bessemer Mine Road and Highway 247 about 50 feet wide. |
| July 2012 | Flash Flood | Baldwin 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 2012 | Flash Flood | Baldwin 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. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doble | 1.9 miles | 39 | |
| Woodlands | 2.4 miles | 34 | |
| Big Bear City | 2.8 miles | 39 | |
| Sugarloaf | 3.0 miles | 34 | |
| Moonridge | 4.3 miles | 34 | |
| Minnelusa | 5.1 miles | 35 | |
| Cushenbury | 6.1 miles | 39 | |
| Big Bear Lake | 6.5 miles | 36 |
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.













