Fair Oaks, California
51 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1897 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the San Mateo census division. It lies in ZIP code area 94025. The Survey maps it on the Palo Alto quadrangle.
Then and now
1897 to 1997The same ground, surveyed 100 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1897 against another survey:
On record in Fair Oaks
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 within a mile 1 record
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
Holbrook-Palmer Estate, "Elmwood"listed 2016 · 0.8 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
22 surveys from 51 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.
- 1897 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:62500
- 1899 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:62500, 11 printings
- 1902 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1941 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:62500
- 1943 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:62500
- 1948 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1957 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1991 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1997 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
218 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 218 fires within 5 miles of Fair Oaks between 1992 and 2020, burning about 92 acres in total. None started naturally. 15 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/undetermined | 134 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 29 |
| Smoking | 17 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 15 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 10 |
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.2 acres | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | ALPINE |
| 6 September 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | PIPE |
| 5 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | not named |
| 5 September 2009 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 4 September 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | S.F. WATERSHED |
| 30 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | NB HWY 280 / SAND HILL R |
| 28 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | not named |
| 26 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | EMERALD |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 29 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 29 workings within 5 miles of Fair Oaks: 13 producers, 12 past producers, 3 unknowns, 1 occurrence. 13 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Mercury, Gypsum-Anhydrite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ideal Cement Company | Limestone, General, Clay | Producer | ||
| Palo Alto Sewage Sludge | Gold, Silver, Phosphorus-Phosphates, Copper, Tin, Palladium | Occurrence | Ash | |
| Redwood City Operation | Halite | Producer | ||
| Granite Rock | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Granite Rock | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Kaiser Gypsum | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Kaiser Gypsum | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Past Producer | ||
| Redwood City Operation | Salt | Past Producer | ||
| Redwood City Plant | Salt | Producer | ||
| Challenge | Mercury | Past Producer | 1955 |
Storms near this place
4 since 2017Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Fair Oaks in 4 storm reports between 2017 and 2023: 2 flood, 2 debris flow. 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 2023 | Debris Flow | North Fair Oaks | - | A mud slide blocked the entire westbound lane of California Highway 92 west of Pilarcitos Creek Road near Half Moon Bay. |
| March 2023 | Flood | North Fair Oaks | - | Street flooding was reported on California Highway 92 in Spanishtown near Half Moon Bay. One way traffic controls were in effect as firefighters dealt with the flooding. |
| January 2017 | Flood | North Fair Oaks | - | West bound Hwy 92 flooding at Pilarcito Creek Rd. |
| February 2017 | Debris Flow | North Fair Oaks | - | Rocks and mud coming down fast into west bound lane of SR 92W near Pilarcitos Creek Rd. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Fair Oaks | 0.1 miles | 51 | |
| Lloyden Park | 0.7 miles | 51 | |
| Atherton | 0.9 miles | 51 | |
| Felton Gables | 0.9 miles | 51 | |
| Lindenwood | 0.9 miles | 51 | |
| Park Forest | 1.1 miles | 51 | |
| Redwood Junction | 1.4 miles | 51 | |
| Menlo Park | 1.6 miles | 51 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 2353997. 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.





















