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Bell Gardens, California

46 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the South Gate-East Los Angeles census division. It lies in ZIP code area 90201. The Survey maps it on the South Gate quadrangle. 39,501 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 121 feet above sea level.

Bell Gardens within Los Angeles County

Then and now

1896 to 1981

The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Bell Gardens, surveyed 1981
Topographic sheet of Bell Gardens, surveyed 1896

Compare 1896 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Bell Gardens fell from 42,072 to 39,501 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
201042,072
202039,501-2,571 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

19 surveys from 46 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

557 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 557 fires within 5 miles of Bell Gardens between 1992 and 2020, burning about 5,611 acres in total. None started naturally. 51 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/undetermined388
Smoking52
Arson/incendiarism51
Misuse of fire by a minor28
Equipment and vehicle use24
Debris and open burning10
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
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
8 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
8 September 2016Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
7 September 2005Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2011Smokingunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
6 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2006Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Bell Gardens: 6 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
L. A. Decomposed Granite Co.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Mccaslin Materials CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Pacific Clay Products CoClayPast ProducerSedimentary
Pacific Clay Products Co. East PitClayPast Producer
Simons Brick Co.ClayPast Producer
Simons Brick Co.-Montebello PlantClayPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles 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
Laguna1.0 miles46
Vinvale1.0 miles46
Gage1.5 miles46
Walker1.5 miles46
Rio Hondo1.6 miles48
Simons1.8 miles46
Cudahy1.8 miles46
Downey2.0 miles46

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 Bell GardensAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q815720The 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 1660323. 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.