BlockBefore

Del Dios, California

43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Oceanside-Escondido census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92029. The Survey maps it on the Escondido quadrangle. 396 people lived here at the 2020 count.

Del Dios within San Diego County

Then and now

1893 to 1996

The same ground, surveyed 103 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Del Dios, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Del Dios, surveyed 1893

Compare 1893 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

16 surveys from 43 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

244 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 244 fires within 5 miles of Del Dios between 1992 and 2020, burning about 7,562 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 14 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/undetermined140
Equipment and vehicle use59
Arson/incendiarism14
Misuse of fire by a minor11
Debris and open burning5
Smoking5
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Recreation and ceremony3
Natural2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
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
7 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Diego UnitHARMONY
5 September 2004Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresSan Diego UnitHARMONY
4 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSan Diego UnitMEDICAL AID
4 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
3 September 2013Equipment and vehicle use6.3 acresSan Diego UnitHARMONY
28 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresSan Diego UnitBEAR
27 September 2005Equipment and vehicle use2.1 acresSan Diego UnitDEER
27 September 2001Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Diego UnitCHICKEN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Diego County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 49 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 49 workings within 5 miles of Del Dios: 19 past producers, 15 producers, 9 prospects, 4 occurrences. 15 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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
Cleveland-Pacific MineGold, SilverProducer
Cleveland-Pacific MineGold, SilverPast Producer
Haborlite CorporationPerlitePast Producer
Dorothy and Pearl ClaimsClayPast Producer
Harris DepositTalc-Soapstone, GoldPast Producer
Morris Clay DepositClayProspect
Pioneer DepositTalc-SoapstonePast Producer
Pioneer MineTalc-SoapstoneProducerPyrophyllite
Robt. Charles & Thom. Hewitt ClaimsClayProspect
Bly Stone CoStoneProducer

Every working recorded in San Diego County

Storms near this place

11 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Del Dios in 11 storm reports between 1997 and 2023: 9 flood, 1 wildfire, 1 flash flood. 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
September 1997WildfireDel Dios$300,000A fire, started by an arsonist, quickly went out of control due to hot, dry easterly winds in advance of Tropical Storm Nora. Erratic sea breeze winds complicated fire fighting efforts by afternoon, as the blaze went on to torch some 1,100 acres in the Del Dios area. Two homes were destroyed, one damaged, two sheds and two motor homes gutted, and seven utility poles and transformers destroyed. At the height of the fire, 1000 residences were evacuated, 2000 lost power, and the Del Dios Highway was closed. Estimated damage to property totalled $300,000, and suppression efforts cost another $350,000.
December 2019FloodDel Dios$10,000Harmony Grove flooding over low lying water crossing from Escondido Creek. This is a flood prone area that has flood gates and cameras.
March 2023FloodDel Dios-In Escondido, Country Club Drive was closed south of Harmony Grove Road due to flooding.
January 2021FloodDel Dios-Escondido Creek flowing causing, Country Club Drive to close near Harmony Grove Road.
December 2021FloodDel Dios-Rocks in roadway per Caltrans CHP. Heavy rain reported at 8 am.
April 2020FloodDel Dios-Around 6 AM, firefighters were dispatched to Harmony Grove Road, where 4 people, 3 dogs and 1 cat were trapped in the swiftly flowing Escondido Creek. Everyone was rescued and accounted for.
May 2015Flash FloodDel Dios-CHP reported Country Club Drive closed due to water flowing over road at dip.
December 2014FloodDel Dios-The Country Club Road webcam shows the road closed and water flowing over roadway at the Escondido Creek crossing.
December 2014FloodDel Dios-Road closed due to flowing water in Escondido Creek over Country Club Drive on low lying crossing. Webcams from SD county flood control confirmed flooding. News 10 reported roadway flooding Along Bent Avenue at Discover Street in San Marcos.
December 2014FloodDel Dios-CHP reported mud too deep to drive through at the intersection of Harmony Grove Road and Wilgen Drive. The roadway was closed for roughly 1 hour.
March 2013FloodDel Dios-A spotter reported several locations of rocks, small vegetation and soil washed into the roadway north of Lake Wolford Road between Lake Wolford Cafe and Valley Center/East Valley Parkway. Law enforcement also reported rocks washed into the roadway on Del Dios Highway at Rancho Drive.

Every storm recorded in San Diego 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
Harmony Grove1.8 miles43
Elfin Forest2.4 miles43
Escondido3.6 miles43
Rancho Bernardo4.9 miles43
San Marcos5.5 miles40
Rancho Santa Fe5.7 miles43
Richland5.7 miles40
Green Valley5.8 miles43

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 Del DiosAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5801603The 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 1656479. 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.