BlockBefore

Calico, California

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1977. It stands in the Barstow census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92398. It lies near Wall Street Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Yermo quadrangle. It stands 2,283 feet above sea level.

Calico within San Bernardino County

Then and now

1953 to 1977

The same ground, surveyed 24 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Calico, surveyed 1977
Topographic sheet of Calico, surveyed 1953

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 15 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

15 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Calico between 1993 and 2020, burning about 933 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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/undetermined9
Equipment and vehicle use3
Smoking1
Arson/incendiarism1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
9 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictCALICO 1
24 July 1994Smoking1.0 acresSan Bernardino UnitTAMY
30 June 1997Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictCALICO
26 June 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSan Bernardino UnitI 15 S/ GHOST TOWN RD
23 June 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Bernardino UnitCALICO BL YERMO
14 June 1998Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictYERMO
13 June 1995Missing data/not specified/undetermined860 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictPARADISE
26 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined11 acresSan Bernardino UnitW WILLIAMS ST YERMO

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Bernardino County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 73 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 73 workings within 5 miles of Calico: 36 past producers, 24 prospects, 8 occurrences, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Silver, Boron-Borates, Barium-Barite, Bentonite. 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
BurchamLead, Silver, Gold, Zinc, CopperPast ProducerVein
Burcham MineLead, Silver, GoldPast Producer
CalicoBoron-Borates, StrontiumPast Producer1882, 1888, 1924
Calico-OdessaSilver, Lead, Gold, CopperPast ProducerCerargyrite, Embolite
Daggett/Yermo SiteLimestone, GeneralOccurrence
GarfieldSilver, Copper, LeadPast Producer
Gunn MineBentonite, ZeolitesPast ProducerBentonite, Sepiolite
Lead MountainBarium-Barite, Lead, Silver, Gold, ZincOccurrenceVein
Lead MountainBarium-Barite, Lead, SilverPast Producer
Pacific MineBoron-Borates, Strontium, Gypsum-AnhydritePast Producer1882, 1884

Every working recorded in San Bernardino County

Storms near this place

11 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Calico in 11 storm reports between 2008 and 2025: 8 flash flood, 2 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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 2010Flash FloodCalico$500,000Many roads on Fort Irwin were flooded and/or washed out.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindCalico$50,000Thunderstorm winds blew down four power poles, knocking out power to all of Fort Irwin.
December 2010Flash FloodCalico$20,000Flash flooding at the intersection of Irwin Road and Copper City Road trapped two men in their vehicle.
July 2008Flash FloodCalico$20,000Flash flooding at the Calico Ghost Town washed out most of the campground, closing it for a week. Roads were covered in mud and debris from 1924 PST to 0330 PST, and the park lost power.
November 2025Flash FloodCalico$15,000Water, mud, and rocks were over Fort Irwin Road in multiple areas, with at least one car stuck. Yermo Road also washed out near Fort Irwin Road and was flooded at the I-15 northbound offramp and at Daggett-Yermo Road, with a big rig stuck in the mud.
July 2008LightningCalico$15,000Lightning downed several power lines in the Yermo area, causing some road closures.
October 2015Flash FloodCalico$10,000Fort Irwin Road was covered with nearly a foot of mud and debris.
April 2016Flash FloodCalico$5,000Flooding washed out Fort Irwin Road near mile marker 4.
September 2011LightningCalico$5,000Lightning struck and set afire a power pole.
April 2016Flash FloodCalico$2,000Water, rocks, and debris partially blocked Fort Irwin Road.
September 2022Flash FloodCalico$1,000Fort Irwin Rd was flooded.

Every storm recorded in San Bernardino 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
Bismarck (historical)1.2 miles15
Yermo3.8 miles15
Daggett6.0 miles14
Gale6.5 miles14
Toomey6.6 miles13
Nebo6.8 miles16
Eniwetok Housing Area7.4 miles14
Desert View Housing Area7.7 miles14

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 CalicoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q526354The 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 1660414. 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.