BlockBefore

Castaic, California

37 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the Newhall census division. It lies in ZIP code area 91384. It lies near Charlie Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Newhall quadrangle. 18,937 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,280 feet above sea level.

Castaic within Los Angeles County

Then and now

1903 to 1995

The same ground, surveyed 92 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Castaic, surveyed 1995
Topographic sheet of Castaic, surveyed 1903

Compare 1903 against another survey:

On record in Castaic

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

Population over time

2 figures

Castaic fell from 19,015 to 18,937 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.

YearPeople Change
201019,015
202018,937-78 (-0%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 37 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

516 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 516 fires within 5 miles of Castaic between 1992 and 2020, burning about 73,282 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 39 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
Equipment and vehicle use213
Missing data/not specified/undetermined193
Arson/incendiarism39
Smoking14
Power generation/transmission/distribution13
Debris and open burning12
Misuse of fire by a minor11
Recreation and ceremony8
Fireworks5
Natural5
Firearms and explosives use2
Other causes1

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 2015Natural15 acresAngeles National ForestGRASSHOPPER
8 September 2013Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresAngeles National ForestFIVE
8 September 2011Debris and open burning20 acresLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
8 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAngeles National ForestBUG
7 September 2020Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresAngeles National ForestSOUTH2
7 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAngeles National ForestPOST
6 September 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreAngeles National ForestTOWNSEND
6 September 2008Equipment and vehicle use20 acresAngeles National ForestPAINT

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Castaic: 4 past producers, 1 occurrence, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Fullers Earth, Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Castaic QuarryClayPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
OvermanFullers EarthOccurrence
All For OneGoldPast Producer
Castaic Valley PlacersGoldUnknown
Smith RanchGoldPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Storms near this place

6 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Castaic in 6 storm reports between 1999 and 2024: 2 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 wildfire. 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
March 2024Thunderstorm WindCastaic-The Whitaker Peak RAWS sensor reported a thunderstorm wind gust of 59 MPH).
September 2022Thunderstorm WindCastaic-Strong thunderstorm wind gusts were reported near Lake Castaic in Los Angeles county. Southern California Edison sensors (Castaic Lake and Castaic Recreational Area) reported wind gusts of 59 MPH.
July 2015Flash FloodCastaic-Strong thunderstorms developed near the burn scar of the Powerhouse Fire. Heavy rain from the thunderstorms generated significant mud and debris flows across Lake Hughes Road.
September 2002WildfireCastaic-The Freeway Fire burned over 1,100 acres of land in the Angeles National Forest. The Freeway Fire closed down Interstate 5 for several hours, but no injuries or deaths were reported.
April 1999HailCastaic-A severe thunderstorm produced one inch hail near the community of Castaic.
December 2004Flash FloodCastaic-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Los Angeles 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
Sulphur Springs0.8 miles37
Ninetynine Oaks1.0 miles37
Valencia3.2 miles37
Castaic Junction3.4 miles37
Val Verde3.5 miles39
Oberg (historical)4.1 miles38
Del Valle5.1 miles39
Martins5.7 miles28

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 CastaicAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3242084The 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 270335. 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.