BlockBefore

Branscomb, California

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1921 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Laytonville-Leggett census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95417. It stands on Buck Creek. The Survey maps it on the Lincoln Ridge quadrangle. It stands 1,565 feet above sea level.

Branscomb within Mendocino County

Then and now

1921 to 1981

The same ground, surveyed 60 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Branscomb, surveyed 1981
Topographic sheet of Branscomb, surveyed 1921

On record in Branscomb

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 14 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

62 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 62 fires within 5 miles of Branscomb between 1992 and 2020, burning about 104 acres in total. 8 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/undetermined20
Equipment and vehicle use15
Natural8
Debris and open burning8
Arson/incendiarism4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Smoking1
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 1998Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresNorthern California DistrictBRUSH
8 September 1993Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMendocino UnitCAUGHRON
5 September 2003Naturalunder an acreMendocino UnitLIGHTNING45
4 September 1992Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMendocino UnitHUNNICUTT
3 September 2003Natural2.0 acresMendocino UnitLIGHTNING 55
3 September 2003Naturalunder an acreMendocino UnitLIGHTNING # 67
3 September 2003Naturalunder an acreMendocino UnitLIGHTNING #63
3 September 2003Naturalunder an acreMendocino UnitLIGHTNING #60

Every fire recorded in Mendocino County

Storms near this place

1 since 2025

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Branscomb in 1 storm report in 2025: 1 heavy rain. 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 2025Heavy RainBranscomb$1,100Heavy rain caused a slide on Wilderness Lodge Road, 3 miles northwest of Branscomb, CA. Lat. 39.68N, Long. -123.66W.

Every storm recorded in Mendocino 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
Laytonville7.9 miles15
Westport8.4 miles16
DeHaven8.5 miles16
Kibesillah9.2 miles17
Newport9.5 miles17
Union Landing9.9 miles16
Bowman Place9.9 miles14
Hardy10.2 miles16

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 BranscombAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4957558The 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 1658127. 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.

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.