Helltown, California
26 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Paradise census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95942. The Survey maps it on the Paradise West quadrangle. It stands 873 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1891 to 1980The same ground, surveyed 89 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1891 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 26 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.
- 1891 USGS Chico quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Chico quadrangle1:125000
- 1895 USGS Chico quadrangle1:125000, 8 printings
- 1953 USGS Paradise quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1958 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000
- 1980 USGS Chico quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1980 USGS Paradise West quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
Fires near this place
693 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 693 fires within 5 miles of Helltown between 1992 and 2020, burning about 17,396 acres in total. 14 started naturally. 114 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 | 242 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 125 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 114 |
| Debris and open burning | 101 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 48 |
| Smoking | 21 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 16 |
| Natural | 14 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 9 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Other causes | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | Northern California District | NIMSHEW |
| 8 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Northern California District | UNNAMED FIRE 3610 |
| 8 September 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Northern California District | RAMBLING |
| 8 September 2001 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Northern California District | STEIFFER |
| 7 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Northern California District | CARNEGIE |
| 7 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Northern California District | PINES |
| 6 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Butte Unit | DOGTOWN |
| 6 September 2007 | Smoking | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 79 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 79 workings within 5 miles of Helltown: 30 past producers, 23 unknowns, 21 occurrences, 5 producers. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Chromium, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral Slide Deposit | Iron, Manganese, Chromium | Occurrence | Vein | |
| Nimshew | Gold, Platinum | Producer | 1848 | |
| S and D | Gold, Copper, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Kemen Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Kennedy Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Sake and Sanders Rock Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Sake and Sanders Rock Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Helmke | Chromium | Unknown | ||
| Helmke Occurrence | Chromium | Past Producer | Chromite | |
| Lambert Mine | Chromium | Past Producer | 1917 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centerville | 1.7 miles | 26 | |
| Irish Town | 1.8 miles | 26 | |
| Mineral Slide | 2.8 miles | 24 | |
| Nimshew | 3.1 miles | 24 | |
| Paradise Pines | 3.6 miles | 24 | |
| Paradise | 4.1 miles | 24 | |
| Magalia | 4.3 miles | 24 | |
| Forest Ranch | 4.9 miles | 27 |
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 Helltown | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5709055 | 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 1658734. 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.







