Camp Nelson, California
28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1904 and the latest in 1987. It stands in the Springville-Johnsondale census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93208. It stands on Nelson Creek. The Survey maps it on the Camp Nelson quadrangle. 106 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,898 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1904 to 1987The same ground, surveyed 83 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1904 against another survey:
Population over time
2 figuresCamp Nelson grew from 97 to 106 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 | 97 | |
| 2020 | 106 | +9 (+9%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
13 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.
- 1904 USGS Kaweah quadrangle1:125000
- 1909 USGS Kaweah quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1937 USGS Kaweah quadrangle1:125000
- 1948 USGS Fresno quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Fresno quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Camp Nelson quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Fresno quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Fresno quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Fresno quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Fresno quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1966 USGS Fresno quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS Three Rivers quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1987 USGS Camp Nelson quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
70 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 70 fires within 5 miles of Camp Nelson between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,053 acres in total. 37 started naturally. 5 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 37 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2001 | Natural | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | SLATE |
| 4 September 2003 | Natural | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | SLATE |
| 3 September 2001 | Natural | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | WISHON |
| 3 September 2001 | Natural | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | JORDAN |
| 3 September 1997 | Natural | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | DOWN |
| 28 September 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | PRICE |
| 27 September 2007 | Natural | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | SEQUOIA |
| 2 September 1997 | Natural | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | MOOREHOUSE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 13 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Camp Nelson: 7 prospects, 4 occurrences, 2 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Zinc, Lead, Zinc, Lead, Copper, Lead, Zinc. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenic and Soda Springs | Zinc, Copper, Lead | Unknown | ||
| Arsenic and Soda Springs | Zinc, Lead, Copper | Occurrence | ||
| Barber-Witt | Copper | Prospect | ||
| Iron Capping | Copper, Lead, Zinc | Occurrence | Chalcopyrite, Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | |
| Iron Capping Group | Zinc, Lead, Silver | Prospect | ||
| Mable H. Quartz Claim | Quartz | Prospect | ||
| Sugar Lime | Limestone, General | Prospect | ||
| Three Point Nos. 1 and 2 | Tungsten | Prospect | ||
| Travertine Pool Placer Mining Claim | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Prospect | ||
| Elder Berry | Lead, Zinc | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
19 since 2003Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Camp Nelson in 19 storm reports between 2003 and 2023: 6 flood, 5 heavy rain, 3 wildfire, 3 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2011 | Flood | Camp Nelson | $20,000 | The CHP reported a mudslide on State Route 190 just west of Pierpoint Drive. |
| January 2023 | Flood | Camp Nelson | - | California Highway Patrol reported a road closure of SR 190 in Camp Nelson at Tule River Bridge due to flooding. |
| January 2023 | Flood | Camp Nelson | - | California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding on Ferguson Dr. at Flynn Dr. in Camp Nelson. |
| March 2023 | Heavy Rain | Camp Nelson | - | A trained spotter in Ponderosa measured 3.39 inches of rainfall in 24 hours. |
| August 2022 | Heavy Rain | Camp Nelson | - | The Peppermint RAWS measured 1.09 inches of rainfall from a thunderstorm in two hours. |
| January 2021 | Flash Flood | Camp Nelson | - | Tulare County Emergency manager reproted flash flooding as the result of an ash flow off of the Castle Fire burn scar in the Milk Canyon area. |
| March 2019 | Debris Flow | Camp Nelson | - | California Highway Patrol reported rocks and boulders on State Route 190 near Pier Point. Water was also flowing across the roadway. |
| March 2018 | Flood | Camp Nelson | - | Cal Trans reported a road closure due to a mudslide on State Route 190 about 8.4 miles west of Camp Nelson. |
| October 2018 | Flood | Camp Nelson | - | California Highway Patrol reported a mud slide and a log on State Route 190 near Pierpont Dr. |
| October 2018 | Flood | Camp Nelson | - | California Highway Patrol reported flooding and debris on State Route 190 near Wishon Dr. |
| October 2018 | Debris Flow | Camp Nelson | - | California Highway Patrol reported a mudslide and logs across McComber Drive near Camp Nelson. |
| January 2017 | Heavy Rain | Camp Nelson | - | Public report of 24 hour rainfall total of 5.70 inches in Camp Nelson. |
| February 2017 | Debris Flow | Camp Nelson | - | California Highway Patrol reported a large rock slide due to heavy rainfall on Highway 190 about 1 mile north of Camp Nelson. |
| September 2017 | Hail | Camp Nelson | - | A Weather Service forecaster providing onsite support at the Pier Fire reported penny sized hail at Pierpoint Springs. |
| December 2014 | Heavy Rain | Camp Nelson | - | Mesonet station Ponderosa /CW5634/ rainfall 1.88 inches. |
| April 2010 | Heavy Rain | Camp Nelson | - | Twenty four hour rainfall of 1.59 inches fell, plus an additional 2 inches of snow, at Ponderosa Basin. |
| August 2003 | Wildfire | Camp Nelson | - | The Cooney Fire was ignited by lightning late in the afternoon of the 31st of July and eventually managed as a resource burn. Designated a resource burn by August 27th, it was reported to have burned 1928 acres. There were no injuries with this fire and costs were unknown. The Cooney Fire was one of 17 fires started by lightning between July 28th and August 1st in the Sequoia National Forest and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks. |
| July 2003 | Wildfire | Camp Nelson | - | The Cooney Fire was ignited by lightning late in the afternoon of the 31st of July and eventually managed as a resource burn by late in August. There were no injuries with this fire and costs were unknown. |
| June 2003 | Wildfire | Camp Nelson | - | The Chimney Fire was human caused and the cost to contain the 565 acre fire was unknown. No fatalities occurred due to the fire. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Slope | 1.6 miles | 28 | |
| Quaker Meadow | 3.7 miles | 27 | |
| Smith Mill | 4.5 miles | 26 | |
| Ponderosa | 5.0 miles | 27 | |
| Mountain Home | 7.8 miles | 27 | |
| Wheatons | 9.1 miles | 26 | |
| Soda Springs | 10.6 miles | 27 | |
| Springville | 11.1 miles | 26 |
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 Camp Nelson | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q6647907 | 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 1660426. 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.












