BlockBefore

Bard, California

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Winterhaven-Bard census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92222. The Survey maps it on the Bard quadrangle. It stands 138 feet above sea level.

Bard within Imperial County

Then and now

1903 to 1993

The same ground, surveyed 90 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Bard, surveyed 1993
Topographic sheet of Bard, surveyed 1903

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 28 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

347 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 347 fires within 5 miles of Bard between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,577 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 44 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/undetermined161
Debris and open burning54
Arson/incendiarism44
Misuse of fire by a minor30
Recreation and ceremony28
Fireworks11
Natural5
Equipment and vehicle use4
Smoking3
Other causes3
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Firearms and explosives use1

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 1998Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFort Yuma AgencyBRIDGE2
9 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFort Yuma AgencyFIRESTONE
9 September 1996Debris and open burningunder an acreFort Yuma AgencyLAGUNA
8 September 1998Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFort Yuma Agency3RD AVE
7 September 2020Arson/incendiarismunder an acreColorado River DistrictBRIDGE
7 September 2001Debris and open burning1.0 acresFort Yuma AgencyCEMETARY
7 September 1998Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFort Yuma AgencyW/BRIDGE2
6 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado River DistrictPRISON

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Imperial County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Bard: 4 past producers, 2 occurrences, 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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
Laguna Dam Placers and ProspectsGold, SilverPast Producer
Laguna PlacersGold, SilverPast ProducerGold, Silver
Unnamed LocationSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Valenzuela PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Valley Sand and Gravel DepSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Valley Sand and Gravel DepositSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerSedimentary
Potholes MineGoldPast Producer
Potholes PlacerGoldPast Producer
Three C:S MineGoldUnknown

Every working recorded in Imperial County

Storms near this place

7 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bard in 7 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBard$40,000Winds uprooted about 26 date palms, and damaged buildings in Bard and Winterhaven. Approximately half of the roof of a local community center in Bard collapsed, in addition to the roof of a business called the Old Bard Store.
October 2022Flash FloodBard$5,000Car Stranded along Senator Wash Road about 5 miles south-southwest of Martinez Lake due to flooding. No injuries were reported.
September 2025Flash FloodBard-Social Media video showed rapidly running water in Mission Wash. Timing estimated from radar. No damages or injuries reported.
September 2025Flash FloodBard-Social media video shows quick flowing water over Parkman Rd. Timing estimated from radar. No damages or injuries reported.
October 2022Thunderstorm WindBard-A mesonet station at Senator Wash measured a 71 mph wind gust.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindBard-Thunderstorms with gusty outflow winds developed along the lower Colorado River Valley during the evening hours on July 9th; some of the stronger storms were located just to the north of the town of Yuma and south of Castle Dome Landing. A mesonet automatic weather station measured a wind gust to 71 mph with one of the the strong storms.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindBard-Scattered thunderstorms developed across eastern Imperial county during the late evening hours on August 27th. The storms generated strong and gusty outflow winds. The Squaw Lake RAWS weather station, located 4 miles southwest of Martinez Lake, measured a wind gust of 66 mph at approximately 1030 pm. No damage was reported in association with the strong winds.

Every storm recorded in Imperial 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
Ross Corner1.9 miles28
Winterhaven5.4 miles28
Araz Junction8.9 miles28
Felicity11.4 miles24
Dunes12.8 miles24
Obregon13.2 miles24
Ogilby15.1 miles24
Picacho16.4 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 BardAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4860020The 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 1660309. 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.