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Biola, California

21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1923 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Kerman census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93606. The Survey maps it on the Biola quadrangle. 1,427 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 253 feet above sea level.

Biola within Fresno County

Then and now

1923 to 1982

The same ground, surveyed 59 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Biola, surveyed 1982
Topographic sheet of Biola, surveyed 1923

Population over time

2 figures

Biola fell from 1,623 to 1,427 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
20101,623
20201,427-196 (-12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 21 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

71 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 71 fires within 5 miles of Biola between 1992 and 2020, burning about 303 acres in total. None started naturally. 4 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/undetermined32
Debris and open burning12
Equipment and vehicle use12
Smoking7
Arson/incendiarism4
Misuse of fire by a minor3
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
5 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
29 September 2017Debris and open burning1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
24 September 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitGONZALAZ
21 September 2011Debris and open burningunder an acreMerced-Mariposa Unit145 2
21 September 2003Equipment and vehicle use10 acresFresno-Kings UnitFKU#11788
2 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitCOLLEGE
16 September 1992Debris and open burning3.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitSCHAFER
9 August 1994Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitMAZON

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Fresno County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Biola: 3 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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
San Joaquin RiverSand and Gravel, Construction, SilverUnknown
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Portland Monolith Cement Co.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Fresno County

Storms near this place

2 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Biola in 2 storm reports between 2000 and 2021: 1 hail, 1 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
December 2021FloodBiola-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding at the itnersection of N. Madera Ave. and W. Shaw Ave.
April 2000HailBiola-A spotter indicated a very short duration hail event with the hail conditions stated as mushy. The Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for both Madera and Fresno Counties as the cell straddled the county line. Confirmation could only be made on the Fresno County side.

Every storm recorded in Fresno 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
Dickerson (historical)1.5 miles20
Raco2.0 miles20
Barstow2.6 miles20
Floyd4.8 miles19
Rugg (historical)4.9 miles15
Rolinda5.4 miles19
Herndon5.8 miles20
Kerman5.9 miles15

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 BiolaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2912357The 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 1659697. 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.