Helm, California
17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1925 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the San Joaquin-Tranquillity census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93627. The Survey maps it on the Helm quadrangle. It stands 187 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1925 to 1982The same ground, surveyed 57 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 17 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.
- 1925 USGS Helm quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1947 USGS Helm quadrangle1:24000
- 1948 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Helm quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Kerman quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Mendota quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
49 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 49 fires within 5 miles of Helm between 1993 and 2020, burning about 697 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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/undetermined | 23 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 13 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Fresno-Kings Unit | 8FKU038631 |
| 8 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Fresno-Kings Unit | GRAHAM RD /W FLORAL AVE |
| 8 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | 40 acres | Fresno-Kings Unit | MADERA I.C |
| 22 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | Fresno-Kings Unit | KAMM FIRE |
| 18 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Fresno-Kings Unit | FKU-9948 |
| 7 August 2012 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | Fresno-Kings Unit | GRADE |
| 19 August 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | W KAMM AV HELM |
| 16 August 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Fresno-Kings Unit | 9FKUOO8351 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Helm: 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Phosphorus-Phosphates. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helm Phos-Acid Plant | Phosphorus-Phosphates | Unknown |
Storms near this place
5 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Helm in 5 storm reports between 1998 and 2011: 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 hail, 1 flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helm | $10,000 | NWS HNX WSR-88D detected no cell activity but high based cumulus evidently supported a weak microburst. A small indication was present on the radar at the time of occurrence but was already dissipated by the completion of the volume scan. This dry microburst wind speed likely was less than 50 MPH but due to the decrepit condition of one of the small telephone poles in this rural area, one pole sustained damage and did fail. In so failing, 4 adjacent poles also snapped off. Again, this was NOT A SEVERE EVENT but more one of interest despite the minor damage. |
| February 2011 | Flood | Helm | $2,000 | The California Highway Patrol reported flooding on Stanislaus Avenue at Mount Whitney Avenue. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helm | - | Outflow winds from a severe thunderstorm reported by a Fresno County official. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Helm | - | A trained spotter reported Quarter-sized hail 4 miles north of Five Points. |
| May 2006 | Heavy Rain | Helm | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nares (historical) | 0.4 miles | 17 | |
| Caldwell (historical) | 4.2 miles | 15 | |
| Burrel | 6.7 miles | 22 | |
| Five Points | 7.1 miles | 18 | |
| San Joaquin | 7.1 miles | 15 | |
| Westside | 9.3 miles | 18 | |
| Bender (historical) | 9.9 miles | 22 | |
| McMullin (historical) | 11.1 miles | 19 |
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 Helm | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q14682187 | 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 225143. 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.










