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Blackwells Corner, California

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1914 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Wasco census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93249. The Survey maps it on the Blackwells Corner quadrangle. It stands 650 feet above sea level.

Blackwells Corner within Kern County

Then and now

1914 to 1993

The same ground, surveyed 79 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Blackwells Corner, surveyed 1993
Topographic sheet of Blackwells Corner, surveyed 1914

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 24 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

9 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Blackwells Corner between 1992 and 2019, burning about 2,907 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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/undetermined7
Debris and open burning1
Equipment and vehicle 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
3 July 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1,500 acresCentral California DistrictCARO
5 June 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresCentral California DistrictREWARD
20 June 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1,397 acresCentral California DistrictBROWN
12 June 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictBITTER
6 May 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKern County Fire Departmentnot named
23 May 1992Debris and open burning1.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitMID #21
16 April 2016Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
22 March 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKern County Fire Departmentnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Blackwells Corner: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Blackwell Corners DepositSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Kern County

Storms near this place

6 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Blackwells Corner in 6 storm reports between 2012 and 2023: 3 flood, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood, 1 debris flow. 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
October 2012FloodBlackwells Corner$25,000Highway 33 was closed due to flooding between Lerdo Highway and Brown Material Road.
January 2023FloodBlackwells Corner-California Highway Patrol reported SR 33 was closed from SR 46 to Lokern Rd. due to flooding.
January 2023Debris FlowBlackwells Corner-California Highway Patrol reported the roadway washed out with several vehicles stuck on SR 33 between Brown Material Rd. and SR 46.
October 2021Flash FloodBlackwells Corner-California Highway Patrol reported a rockslide with large builders on the roadway near the intersection of SR 46 and SR 33 at Blackwell's Corner.
March 2019FloodBlackwells Corner-California Highway Patrol reported three vehicles stuck in water and unable to move near the intersection of State Route 33 and State Route 46.
February 2015Tornado (EF0)Blackwells Corner-Tornado spotted and photographed by the public. Estimated width 50 Yards with an estimated length of 1/2 mile. The duration of the tornado was estimated at 10 minutes.

Every storm recorded in Kern 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
North Belridge6.3 miles24
Lost Hills9.2 miles25
Packwood (historical)10.4 miles20
Kecks Corner12.0 miles22
Summers (historical)12.7 miles20
Missouri Triangle15.4 miles22
Spicer City16.0 miles24
Annette16.7 miles20

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 Blackwells CornerAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q9174156The 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 252855. 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.