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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.

Ellwood within Santa Barbara County

Then and now

1942 to 1995

The 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 sheet of Ellwood, surveyed 1995
Topographic sheet of Ellwood, surveyed 1942

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 24 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

46 since 1994

Regional 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/undetermined34
Equipment and vehicle use5
Debris and open burning3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Recreation and ceremony2

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
8 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSanta Barbara County Fire Departmentnot named
29 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLos Padres National ForestPEDRO
12 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
27 August 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 July 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
24 July 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Barbara County Fire Departmentnot named
19 July 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
13 July 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Barbara County Fire Departmentnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Santa Barbara County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Unnamed LocationClayProspect
Ellwood Ranch QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Lambert PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Santa Barbara County

Storms near this place

2 since 2010

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
January 2026Flash FloodEllwood-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 2010Tornado (EF0)Ellwood-A small tornado developed over the Isla Vista area in the community of Goleta. Only minor damage was reported.

Every storm recorded in Santa Barbara 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
El Encano Heights0.4 miles24
Coromar1.1 miles22
Isla Vista1.9 miles22
La Patera2.5 miles22
Orchams3.0 miles24
Goleta3.2 miles22
Naples3.8 miles24
Hope Ranch6.2 miles22

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.