Ellwood, California
24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1942 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the Santa Barbara census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93117. It lies in Ellwood Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Dos Pueblos Canyon quadrangle.
Then and now
1942 to 1995The same ground, surveyed 53 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 24 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.
- 1942 USGS Goleta quadrangle1:62500
- 1949 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1951 USGS Dos Pueblos Canyon quadrangle1:24000, 9 printings
- 1955 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1966 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1980 USGS Dos Pueblos Canyon quadrangle1:24000
- 1982 USGS Santa Barbara quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
- 1995 USGS Dos Pueblos Canyon quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
46 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 46 fires within 5 miles of Ellwood between 1994 and 2020, burning about 72 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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/undetermined | 34 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Santa Barbara County Fire Department | not named |
| 29 September 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Los Padres National Forest | PEDRO |
| 12 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 27 August 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 8 July 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 24 July 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Santa Barbara County Fire Department | not named |
| 19 July 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 13 July 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Santa Barbara County Fire Department | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Ellwood: 1 prospect, 1 past producer, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Location | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Ellwood Ranch Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Lambert Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
2 since 2010Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ellwood in 2 storm reports between 2010 and 2026: 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | Flash Flood | Ellwood | - | Heavy rainfall resulted in the closure of all lanes of Highway 101 due to flash flooding and mudflows from the intersection of Highway 101 and the Pacific Coast Highway to Winchester Road in Goleta. |
| January 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Ellwood | - | A small tornado developed over the Isla Vista area in the community of Goleta. Only minor damage was reported. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Encano Heights | 0.4 miles | 24 | |
| Coromar | 1.1 miles | 22 | |
| Isla Vista | 1.9 miles | 22 | |
| La Patera | 2.5 miles | 22 | |
| Orchams | 3.0 miles | 24 | |
| Goleta | 3.2 miles | 22 | |
| Naples | 3.8 miles | 24 | |
| Hope Ranch | 6.2 miles | 22 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1656504. 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.









