BlockBefore

Ford City, California

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the West Kern census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93268. The Survey maps it on the Taft quadrangle. 4,348 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 892 feet above sea level.

Ford City within Kern County

Then and now

1910 to 1981

The same ground, surveyed 71 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Ford City, surveyed 1981
Topographic sheet of Ford City, surveyed 1910

On record in Ford City

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.

Population over time

2 figures

Ford City grew from 4,278 to 4,348 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
20104,278
20204,348+70 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 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

409 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 409 fires within 5 miles of Ford City between 1992 and 2020, burning about 11,796 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 27 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/undetermined185
Power generation/transmission/distribution77
Equipment and vehicle use60
Misuse of fire by a minor32
Arson/incendiarism27
Natural13
Debris and open burning7
Smoking5
Fireworks1
Firearms and explosives use1
Recreation and ceremony1

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 1999Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0617
7 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKern County Fire DepartmentELK HILLS
7 September 1998Power generation/transmission/distribution15 acresCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0546
6 September 2017Power generation/transmission/distribution10 acresCentral California DistrictHILL
6 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
4 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0314
4 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0788
4 September 2000Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0651

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Ford City: 9 past producers, 3 producers, 1 occurrence, 1 prospect. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Uranium, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Fullers Earth. 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
Taft PitSilicaPast Producer
Elkhorn Pit and MillClayPast ProducerSedimentary
Elkhorn Pit and MillClayProducer
Excel MillFullers EarthProducer
Excel PitFullers EarthProducer
Fellows Quarry No. 2Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Taft QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Morton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Standard Oil Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Taft PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Kern County

Storms near this place

9 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ford City in 9 storm reports between 2007 and 2026: 5 flood, 2 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. 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
October 2010Flash FloodFord City$100,000Sandy Creek flooded and caused a debris flow into the Taft Hills Shopping Plaza. Several businesses were inundated with water, rocks and mud and had to shut down for several hours.
October 2010FloodFord City$10,000CHP reports water over the road at CA Highway 33 and Midway Road in Fellows.
October 2010FloodFord City$5,000Heavy rainfall from thunderstorms caused street flooding in the town of Taft.
January 2026FloodFord City-CHP reported flooding at Birch St and Harrison St in Taft.
December 2025FloodFord City-CHP reports flooding up to 5 inches at Birch St and Harrison St.
December 2019FloodFord City-California Highway Patrol reported approximately a foot of water across Monroe St. and onto the sidewalk near the intersection of Cedar St. in Taft.
May 2016Heavy RainFord City-California Highway Patrol reported water on roads at intersection of Cypress Street and Orange Street in Valley Acres at 1514 PST.
June 2015HailFord City-A trained spotter reported one inch hail just to the north of Ford City at 1715 PDT. Also, received a report via Facebook after the event showing the one inch hail.
October 2007HailFord City-A trained spotter reported penny sized hail.

Every storm recorded in Kern 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
Taft0.8 miles24
Wallace Center1.2 miles24
South Taft1.4 miles24
Taft Heights1.6 miles24
Spellacy3.0 miles23
Midoil3.5 miles23
Warren (historical)3.8 miles23
Valley Acres4.4 miles24

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 Ford CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3295940The 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 1660645. 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.