BlockBefore

Gaviota, California

21 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 near CaƱada Del Barro. The Survey maps it on the Gaviota quadrangle.

Gaviota 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 Gaviota, surveyed 1995
Topographic sheet of Gaviota, surveyed 1942

Compare 1942 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 21 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

14 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Gaviota between 1993 and 2019, burning about 8,324 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/undetermined13
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
26 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
24 September 1997Missing data/not specified/undetermined375 acresLos Padres National ForestHOMESTEAD
1 August 1996Power generation/transmission/distribution80 acresLos Padres National ForestNAJOQUI
15 July 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.4 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
9 June 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSanta Barbara County Fire Departmentnot named
7 June 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 June 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined7,440 acresLos Padres National ForestGAVIOTA
18 June 2012Missing 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

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Gaviota: 1 past producer, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Bentonite. 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
Bentonite ProspectBentoniteOccurrence
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Santa Barbara County

Storms near this place

6 since 2004

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gaviota in 6 storm reports between 2004 and 2005: 5 flash flood, 1 hail. The reports record 2 deaths. 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
March 2005Flash FloodGaviota2 killedHeavy rain over the Santa Ynez Mountains caused flash flooding and mudslides near the community of Gaviota. Flash flood waters flowing across Highway 101 swept a SUV into a swollen Gaviota Creek. Both people in the SUV were killed.
November 2005Flash FloodGaviota-Heavy rain produced flash flooding and mudslides across the Gaviota Burn Area. The Gaviota Fire Department reported mud flows across Hollister Ranch Road. The California Highway Patrol reported small boulders on Highway 154.
February 2005HailGaviota-no account filed
December 2004Flash FloodGaviota-no account filed
December 2004Flash FloodGaviota-no account filed
October 2004Flash FloodGaviota-no account filed

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
Port Orford0.7 miles21
Las Cruces2.6 miles27
Sacate4.2 miles18
Drake4.7 miles18
Tajiguas5.6 miles20
San Augustine7.6 miles18
Gato8.7 miles16
Orella (historical)8.7 miles20

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 271285. 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.