Bodfish, California
28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1906 and the latest in 1978. It stands in the Lake Isabella census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93205. It stands on Bodfish Creek. The Survey maps it on the Lake Isabella South quadrangle. 2,008 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,687 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1906 to 1978The same ground, surveyed 72 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Population over time
2 figuresBodfish grew from 1,956 to 2,008 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,956 | |
| 2020 | 2,008 | +52 (+3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 28 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.
- 1906 USGS Kernville quadrangle1:125000
- 1908 USGS Kernville quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1943 USGS Isabella quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1943 USGS Isabella Dam quadrangle1:62500
- 1948 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1966 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Lake Isabella South quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1978 USGS Isabella Lake quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
343 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 343 fires within 5 miles of Bodfish between 1992 and 2020, burning about 65,919 acres in total. 22 started naturally. 24 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 | 140 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 37 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 36 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 34 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 24 |
| Natural | 22 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 17 |
| Fireworks | 12 |
| Debris and open burning | 10 |
| Smoking | 10 |
| Other causes | 1 |
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 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.0 acres | Sequoia National Forest | AUXILLARY |
| 9 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Central California District | UNNAMED FIRE 1069 |
| 6 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Central California District | UNNAMED FIRE 0193 |
| 6 September 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Central California District | UNNAMED FIRE 0950 |
| 6 September 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5.0 acres | Sequoia National Forest | BARLOW |
| 6 September 1999 | Fireworks | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | MAIN |
| 6 September 1998 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Central California District | UNNAMED FIRE 0944 |
| 5 September 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | BLACK |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 85 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 85 workings within 5 miles of Bodfish: 39 past producers, 14 occurrences, 13 producers, 12 prospects. 13 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Tungsten, Uranium, Antimony. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Peak Deposit | Stone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Erskine Creek Deposits | Limestone, General | Occurrence | ||
| Isabella Readimix Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Prosperity | Gold, Tungsten | Occurrence | Vein | |
| Kergon | Molybdenum, Uranium | Occurrence | Ilsemannite, Jordisite | |
| Kergon | Molybdenum, Uranium | Producer | Ilsemannite, Jordisite, Pitchblende | |
| Alice Mine | Antimony | Producer | ||
| Alice Mine | Antimony | Past Producer | ||
| Copper King | Copper | Occurrence | Vein | |
| Copper King | Copper | Unknown |
Storms near this place
12 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bodfish in 12 storm reports between 2002 and 2022: 5 heavy rain, 2 wildfire, 2 flood, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2002 | Wildfire | Bodfish | $3,780,000 | The Deer Fire was man-caused, was pushed by the typically strong up-valley southwest wind through the Kern River Canyon, and burned 1800 acres. The cost to contain the fire was $1.3M. However there were 47 primary residences, 1 commercial building, and 46 out-buildings lost due to this fire with an estimated value of $2.5M. There were no fatalities. |
| June 2002 | Wildfire | Bodfish | $1,950,000 | The Borel Fire originated from unknown causes and burned 3430 acres. There were 7 primary residences and 12 out-buildings lost in this fire. There were no reported fatalities or injuries. |
| September 2003 | Heavy Rain | Bodfish | $10,000 | no account filed |
| August 2022 | Heavy Rain | Bodfish | - | The KRN01 RAWS 1N Bodfish measured 0.56 inches of rainfall from a thunderstorm in two hours. |
| January 2019 | Flood | Bodfish | - | California Highway Patrol reported the northbound lanes of Lake Isabella Blvd. completely flooded at the Chain Ave. intersection in Bodfish. |
| March 2019 | Debris Flow | Bodfish | - | California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooded with water, debris and trees at the intersection of Bodfish Canyon Rd. and Lake Isabella Blvd. |
| June 2019 | Heavy Rain | Bodfish | - | A spotter in Bodfish measured 1.75 inches of rain in 55 minutes. Water was running down rain gutters. No flooding was observed. |
| June 2019 | Hail | Bodfish | - | A spotter reported dime sized hail in Bodfish. |
| January 2017 | Flood | Bodfish | - | Kern County Department of Highways reported flooding in Bodfish on Caliente Bodfish Road at Rim Road for southbound traffic. |
| January 2017 | Flash Flood | Bodfish | - | Kern County Department of Highways reported flooding in Bodfish on Caliente Bodfish Road at Rim Road for southbound traffic. |
| December 2016 | Heavy Rain | Bodfish | - | Spotter 24 hour rainfall report of 2.10 inches. |
| December 2016 | Heavy Rain | Bodfish | - | Trained spotter reports rainfall report of 2.10 inches near Bodfish. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Isabella | 2.3 miles | 28 | |
| Miracle Hot Springs (historical) | 2.4 miles | 24 | |
| Scovern Hot Springs (historical) | 2.5 miles | 28 | |
| Keyesville | 2.8 miles | 25 | |
| Isabella (historical) | 4.9 miles | 28 | |
| Squirrel Mountain Valley | 5.0 miles | 28 | |
| Havilah | 5.1 miles | 24 | |
| Mountain Mesa | 5.8 miles | 28 |
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 Bodfish | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2396293 | The 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 1660353. 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.











