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Durham, California

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Durham census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95938. The Survey maps it on the Chico quadrangle. 5,834 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 161 feet above sea level.

Durham within Butte County

Then and now

1891 to 1980

The same ground, surveyed 89 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Durham, surveyed 1980
Topographic sheet of Durham, surveyed 1891

On record in Durham

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

Durham grew from 5,518 to 5,834 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
20105,518
20205,834+316 (+6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 28 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

362 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 362 fires within 5 miles of Durham between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,390 acres in total. 3 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/undetermined132
Equipment and vehicle use116
Debris and open burning65
Arson/incendiarism14
Smoking11
Misuse of fire by a minor9
Recreation and ceremony5
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Natural3
Railroad operations and maintenance2
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 2012Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreButte UnitDURHAM
9 September 2000Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreButte UnitHEGAN
8 September 2019Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreButte UnitTROXEL RD DRHM
8 September 2011Smokingunder an acreButte UnitSOUTH
8 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreButte UnitMIDWAY1
8 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreButte UnitMIDWAY2
8 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreButte UnitMIDWAY3
7 September 2016Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionNEAL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Butte County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Durham: 3 producers, 3 unknowns, 1 occurrence, 1 past producer. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Platinum, PGE. 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
Butte CreekGold, PlatinumProducer1848, 1949
Butte CreekGold, PGEUnknown
Butte Creek Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Chico PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
L L UlticanSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Butte Creek DistrictGoldPast Producer1849
UnknownGoldOccurrence
Unnamed LocationGoldUnknown

Every working recorded in Butte County

Storms near this place

7 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Durham in 7 storm reports between 2005 and 2025: 4 flood, 1 hail, 1 tornado, 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
April 2005Tornado (F0)Durham$10,000no account filed
February 2025FloodDurham-Water was reported to be going over the bridge near Mesa Road and Esquon Road leading to levee and bridge concerns due to heavy rain.
December 2025FloodDurham-California Highway Patrol reported multiple road closures in the vicinity of Chico from heavy rain. Some highways that were impacted include both northbound and southboune lanes of Highway 99 from Garner to Kiefer.
November 2018Flash FloodDurham-Flooding caused traffic delays and one hour of road closures on northbound and southbound Highway 99 from Neal Road to Estates Drive in Chico. Sheetflow was reported from heavy rain off of recently burned areas from the Camp Fire.
November 2018FloodDurham-Heavy rain caused sheet flow from the Camp Fire burn scar, which flooded Highway 99 near Neal Road.
November 2018FloodDurham-A vehicle was reported stuck in flood waters up to mirrors in about 3.5 feet of water.
June 2005HailDurham-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Butte 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
Eskini (historical)0.1 miles28
Roble1.3 miles28
Esquon3.3 miles27
Dayton3.8 miles28
Stirling Junction4.7 miles28
Barber5.1 miles28
Chapmantown5.2 miles28
Chico6.0 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 DurhamAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q599922The 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 277502. 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.