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Bolsa Knolls, California

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Salinas census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93906. The Survey maps it on the Salinas quadrangle. It stands 131 feet above sea level.

Bolsa Knolls within Monterey County

Then and now

1910 to 1983

The same ground, surveyed 73 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Bolsa Knolls, surveyed 1983
Topographic sheet of Bolsa Knolls, surveyed 1910

Compare 1910 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 27 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

266 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 266 fires within 5 miles of Bolsa Knolls between 1992 and 2020, burning about 632 acres in total. None started naturally. 29 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/undetermined141
Equipment and vehicle use49
Arson/incendiarism29
Misuse of fire by a minor20
Debris and open burning17
Recreation and ceremony3
Smoking2
Other causes2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
7 September 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitSAN JUAN GRADE RD / CRAZY
5 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSan Benito-Monterey Unitnot named
4 September 2015Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitVIERRA CANYON RD NORTH_C
4 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
4 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitCABEU003585
4 September 1993Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitPG&E #21
30 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Monterey County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 13 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Bolsa Knolls: 4 prospects, 3 past producers, 2 producers, 2 plants. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Dolomite, Magnesite. 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
Foothill Road PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
SillacciStoneProducer
Bethlehem Steel CoDolomitePast Producer
Natividad Calcining PlantMagnesitePlant
Natividad Quarry & MillMagnesite, Limestone, GeneralPlant1940, 1942
Sillacci Lower QuarryStone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, GeneralPast Producer
Sugarloaf DepositLimestone, General, DolomiteOccurrence
Unnamed PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Bethlehem Steel CoLimestone, GeneralProspectSedimentary
Natividad DepositLimestone, GeneralProspectSedimentary

Every working recorded in Monterey County

Storms near this place

6 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bolsa Knolls in 6 storm reports between 2000 and 2025: 4 flood, 1 flash flood, 1 hail. 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
February 2000Flash FloodBolsa Knolls$1,000,000floods and mudslides water from the persistent rain washed out highway one south of Big Sur that still has not been reopened two months later.The Bolsa knolls area was flooded and water damaged a number of houses and businesses. Houses in Prunedale were flooded with water and mud. Fallen trees were the cause of power outages to around 2,400 people in North Monterey County. Pacific Grove Mifddle School was flooded and evacuated.
October 2009FloodBolsa Knolls$200,000The Pacific Coast Christian Academy and Little Lamb Preschool flooded after Little Bear Creek breached its banks. At least one foot of standing water remained in the school through the evening.
January 2017HailBolsa Knolls$10Picture shared via twitter from media.
February 2025FloodBolsa Knolls-Roadway flooding was reported on Rogge Road and Natividad Road, causing a lot of traffic with people reportedly getting out of cars.
November 2025FloodBolsa Knolls-Denner Road was flooded between Paul Avenue and San Juan Grade Road.
December 2024FloodBolsa Knolls-Rogge Road and San Juan Grade Road closed due to flooding.

Every storm recorded in Monterey 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
Santa Rita1.2 miles27
Gabilan Acres1.8 miles25
Natividad2.2 miles27
Boronda3.1 miles27
Prunedale3.3 miles25
Alisal3.9 miles27
Salinas4.0 miles27
Cooper4.4 miles27

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 Bolsa KnollsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4940037The 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 1658102. 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.