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Coalinga, California

25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1987. It stands in the Coalinga census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93210. It stands on Warthan Creek. The Survey maps it on the Coalinga quadrangle. 17,590 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 673 feet above sea level.

Coalinga within Fresno County

Then and now

1912 to 1987

The same ground, surveyed 75 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Coalinga, surveyed 1987
Topographic sheet of Coalinga, surveyed 1912

On record in Coalinga

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

Coalinga grew from 13,380 to 17,590 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
201013,380
202017,590+4,210 (+31%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 25 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

322 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 322 fires within 5 miles of Coalinga between 1992 and 2020, burning about 13,545 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 37 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/undetermined132
Equipment and vehicle use105
Arson/incendiarism37
Power generation/transmission/distribution23
Debris and open burning13
Smoking5
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Natural2
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
7 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitSTONE
6 September 1997Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitCHEVRON
5 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionCOALINGA
5 September 2014Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitFIRESTONE
5 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitELM
5 September 2000Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitGAIL
5 September 1994Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitFKU-9253
4 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined61 acresFresno-Kings UnitJAYNE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Fresno County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Coalinga: 6 producers, 4 occurrences, 2 past producers, 1 unknown. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gypsum-Anhydrite, Manganese, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Dr Gt MontfordStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Avery ProspectManganeseProspect
Sunset & Sunrise DepositManganesePast Producer
CoalingaGypsum-AnhydriteProducerSedimentary
CoalingaGypsum-AnhydritePast Producer
Coalinga MineGypsum-AnhydriteOccurrence
Eureka Gypsum MinesGypsum-AnhydriteOccurrence
Unnamed LocationGypsum-AnhydriteUnknown
Coalinga PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Coalinga PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Fresno County

Storms near this place

30 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Coalinga in 30 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 10 flood, 8 debris flow, 5 flash flood, 3 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
July 2004WildfireCoalinga$80,000The Gatos fire was of unknown origin and burned 800 acres. There were no injuries or fatalities although one outbuilding was destroyed and another damaged.
January 2010FloodCoalinga$20,000Local highway officials reported flooding on Hwy 198 at Hwy 269.
January 2010FloodCoalinga$15,000Law enforcement reported flooding at Highway 33 and Merced Avenue.
June 2002WildfireCoalinga$15,000The WK Hill/33 Fire originated from unknown causes and burned 400 acres near the intersection of Highway 33 and 198 in West Fresno County. No structures were lost nor were there any fatalities or injuries.
January 2023Flash FloodCoalinga$10,000The Coalinga Fire Department performed a swift water rescue of a driver from a vehicle which was trapped in high flood waters at the intersection of SR 33 and Phelps Ave. near Los Gatos Creek in Coalinga. The rescue was also reported by local broadcast media.
February 2024Debris FlowCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported boulders and rocks sliding down on SR 198 west of Coalinga.
January 2023FloodCoalinga-California Highway patrol reported a mudslide blocking the roadway on SR 198.
June 2023FloodCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported flooding across SR 198 at Parkfield Junction along with rocks and debris.
May 2023FloodCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported rocks and mud on the roadway at the intersection of SR 198 and Firestone Ave.
December 2023FloodCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported several rocks blocking one lane of SR 198 5SW Coalinga.
December 2022Debris FlowCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported falling rocks with regards to a collision 5SW Coalinga on SR 198.
January 2021Debris FlowCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported large boulders and mud covering SR 198 at Wartman St. southwest of Coalinga.
February 2019Debris FlowCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported rocks and mud on the westbound lane of State Route 198 and some debris on the eastbound lane around 10 miles WSW of Coalinga.
February 2019Debris FlowCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported rocks and boulders on the roadway at the intersection of State Route 198 and Firestone Ave.
June 2019Flash FloodCoalinga-Coalinga Fire Department reported all major streets in downtown Coalinga were completely flooded with several structures damaged by water after a thunderstorm dropped 1.36 inches of rainfall in one hour and 15 minutes.
January 2017FloodCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported Highway 198 was closed due to road flooding from Firestone Avenue to the Fresno/Monterey County line west of Coalinga.
May 2016Debris FlowCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported mud and debris flow covering SR198 about 10 miles west southwest of Coalinga at 1354 PST.
May 2016Debris FlowCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported mud and debris flow covering SR198 about 2 miles south southwest of Coalinga at 1355 PST.
May 2016Debris FlowCoalinga-California Highway Patrol reported mud and debris flow across SR198 about 8 miles west southwest of Coalinga at 1408 PST.
November 2010FloodCoalinga-Street flooding in downtown Coalinga at the corner of Highway 198 and Van Ness. Water reached from one side of the street to the other.
July 2006Heavy RainCoalinga-Strong thunderstorms were present around Interior Central California during the late afternoon and early evening of the 23rd. One cell in Western Fresno County led to a report of 1.16" of rain in just over an hour. No reports of flooding were received.
May 2005Flash FloodCoalinga-Coalinga Police Department reported "all roads in town are flooded with some impassable" due to runoff from nearby mountains and ponding water from thunderstorms early in the evening of the 5th. The city reported 1.38" of rain falling from mid-afternoon to early evening.
February 1998Flash FloodCoalinga-Water and rocks over the roadway from heavy rain in higher terrain above the road.
February 1998FloodCoalinga-Local city streets with standing water due to heavy rain overwhelming the city drainage system. Local creeks handled the runoff well from the mountains.
April 2006Flash FloodCoalinga-no account filed
September 2005Heavy RainCoalinga-no account filed
September 2005HailCoalinga-no account filed
March 2001FloodCoalinga-no account filed
October 2000HailCoalinga-no account filed
March 1997HailCoalinga-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Fresno 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
Ora2.0 miles25
Parkfield Junction7.5 miles20
Turk7.6 miles22
Oilfields7.7 miles25
Huron14.3 miles23
Calflax19.5 miles19
Westhaven20.3 miles20
Westside21.5 miles18

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 CoalingaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q985263The 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 1652687. 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.