Foster, California
37 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the San Diego census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92040. It lies near Slaughterhouse Canyon. The Survey maps it on the San Vicente Reservoir quadrangle.
Then and now
1893 to 1996The same ground, surveyed 103 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1893 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
17 surveys from 37 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.
- 1893 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:62500
- 1893 USGS Elcajon quadrangle1:62500
- 1901 USGS Elcajon quadrangle1:62500
- 1903 USGS Cuyamaca quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1903 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1903 USGS Elcajon quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 2 quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1939 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1942 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:62500
- 1950 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS San Vicente Reservoir quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1979 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1996 USGS San Vicente Reservoir quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
375 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 375 fires within 5 miles of Foster between 1992 and 2020, burning about 4,740 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 22 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 | 169 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 120 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 22 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 17 |
| Debris and open burning | 14 |
| Smoking | 13 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 10 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Other causes | 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 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Southern California Agency | BARONA |
| 5 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Diego Unit | WILDCAT CANYON RD / MUT 4 |
| 5 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | San Diego Unit | CREEK |
| 4 September 2019 | Natural | under an acre | California Desert District | VICENTE |
| 4 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | California Desert District | WILLOW |
| 30 September 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Diego Unit | VIGIALANTE |
| 3 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Diego Unit | WILDCAT CANYON RD / BAR 2 |
| 3 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | San Diego Unit | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 52 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 52 workings within 5 miles of Foster: 40 past producers, 9 producers, 2 occurrences, 1 prospect. 9 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Molybdenum. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Featherstone Deposit | Silica | Occurrence | ||
| Lakeside Lime and Marl Deposit | Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Echo Mine | Molybdenum | Occurrence | ||
| Fernbrook Deposit | Molybdenum | Prospect | ||
| Calif Wire Sawyer Corp. | Stone, Crushed/Broken, Granite | Past Producer | ||
| Coston Construction Co. | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Nelson and Sloan Pit No. 12 | Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Ttt Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Waterman Granite Co. Quarry | Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mussey Grove (historical) | 1.7 miles | 37 | |
| Eucalyptus Hills | 2.3 miles | 37 | |
| Moreno | 2.4 miles | 42 | |
| Lakeside Farms | 2.9 miles | 42 | |
| Lakeside | 3.5 miles | 42 | |
| Barona | 3.6 miles | 40 | |
| Riverview | 3.6 miles | 42 | |
| Fernbrook | 4.2 miles | 37 |
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 Foster | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q39049323 | The 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 252891. 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.
















