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Idyllwild, California

37 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Idyllwild census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92549. It stands on Lilly Creek. The Survey maps it on the Idyllwild quadrangle. It stands 5,253 feet above sea level.

Idyllwild within Riverside County

Then and now

1901 to 1996

The same ground, surveyed 95 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Idyllwild, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Idyllwild, surveyed 1901

Compare 1901 against another survey:

On record in Idyllwild

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 4 records

Topographic sheets covering this place

15 surveys from 37 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

361 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 361 fires within 5 miles of Idyllwild between 1992 and 2020, burning about 44,952 acres in total. 74 started naturally. 29 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
Recreation and ceremony77
Natural74
Missing data/not specified/undetermined73
Equipment and vehicle use40
Arson/incendiarism29
Debris and open burning16
Power generation/transmission/distribution15
Other causes14
Smoking11
Misuse of fire by a minor9
Fireworks3

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 2000Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestMARRION#2
7 September 2000Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestANTSELL
6 September 2006Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestFOSTER
6 September 1994Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National Forestnot named
5 September 2002Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestBALD
4 September 2019Smokingunder an acreRiverside UnitRIVERSIDE COUNTY PLAYGROU
4 September 2003Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestFISHERMAN
4 September 2001Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestCIENEGA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Riverside County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Idyllwild: 3 occurrences, 2 past producers, 2 prospects. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Asbestos, Feldspar, Silica, Gold. 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
4 L's ProspectMolybdenumProspect
Alert RanchFeldspar, SilicaOccurrence
Catherine C. MineAsbestosPast Producer
Dorthy AnnGoldOccurrence
Gilbert A. MorrisQuartzProspect
Riverside Co. Gravel PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed Andalusite OccurrenceKyaniteOccurrence

Every working recorded in Riverside County

Storms near this place

20 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Idyllwild in 20 storm reports between 1999 and 2022: 10 flash flood, 5 heavy rain, 3 flood, 1 wildfire. The reports record 2 injuries. 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
August 2008HailIdyllwild2 hurtA severe thunderstorm developed over the Fern Valley area and significantly interfered with an ongoing search and rescue operation involving two injured climbers at Suicide Rock. Several eyewitness accounts from climbers on Suicide and Tahquitz Rocks, as well as from people involved in the ongoing SAR mission, describe hailstones ranging in size from marbles to walnuts. A rescue helicopter was forced to abort a rescue attempt of the climbers and make an emergency landing after the thunderstorm moved into the area. One of the injured climbers suffered additional contusions from the hail while another person received cuts. Please note that the severe thunderstorm did not move into the area until nearly two hours after the initial (non-weather related) rock climbing accident.
January 2005Flash FloodIdyllwild$150,000no account filed
January 2005Flash FloodIdyllwild$15,000no account filed
August 2008Flash FloodIdyllwild$10,000A severe thunderstorm east of Idyllwild produced flash flooding in a line from Suicide and Tahquitz Rocks to the Fern Valley area. A search and rescue mission involving two injured rock climbers was ongoing prior to the storm. Several people involved in the SAR mission describe significant runoff and flash flooding 3 feet deep carrying rocks and debris down the mountain. Many roads in Fern Valley were littered with large rocks and mud.
August 2000FloodIdyllwild$10,000no account filed
July 2005Flash FloodIdyllwild$5,000A flash flood in the Fern Valley area left boulders scattered across the road.
October 2022Flash FloodIdyllwild-Department of Highways reported flooding at SR-74 E and Cranston Ranger Station at mile marker 49. Water covering the road, originating from the Fairview Fire burn scar. Mesonet station CNSC1 Cranston reported 1.03 inch of heavy rain within two hours.
August 2022Flash FloodIdyllwild-More than 200 people were stranded at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway as heavy rain in the San Jacinto Mountains and State Park caused impassible mudflows along the exit road from the valley station. Operations of Palm Springs said mud began flowing down east of the station onto the road. The flow appeared to be mostly mud, and not debris. Rainfall of 1.99 inches was measured at the Mt San Jacinto Peak RAWS site.
September 2022Heavy RainIdyllwild-Mesonet station VGRC1 Vista Grande reported 0.75 inch of rain in one hour.
September 2022FloodIdyllwild-Flooding reported along Highway 243 in Pine Cove near Idyllwild, with small gravel and mud flows noted. Small hail (0.25 inch in diameter) was also reported.
July 2021Heavy RainIdyllwild-Automated weather station at fire station reports 1.5 inches of rain in 60 minutes. 0.66 inches in 15 minutes.
July 2021Heavy RainIdyllwild-San Jacinto raws received 1.44 inches of rain and 0.89 in 1 hour between 5 and 6 am.
October 2021Heavy RainIdyllwild-Moderate to heavy rain occurred across the region with parts of the Idyllwild area receiving amounts near 0.90 inches of rain in total.
September 2013Flash FloodIdyllwild-California Highway Patrol reported a debris flow on Highway 74 at McCall Park Road. The water cleared out soon after and left behind debris on the road...such as rocks and sticks. The nearby Keenwild mesonet recorded 0.47 inches of rain during this time.
September 2004Flash FloodIdyllwild-A thunderstorm dropped 1.15" of rain in one hour in the Pine Cove area. Some sheet flow and rock slides were observed along Hwy 74 east of Lake Hemet.
July 1999FloodIdyllwild-Thunderstorms accompanied by heavy downpours caused street flooding in Idyllwild and San Jacinto. Also several motor vehicle accidents on Highway 79, between Beaumont and San Jacinto, were attributed to heavy rain.
July 1999Flash FloodIdyllwild-Over an inch of rain fell in 45 minutes. Flooding was observed along with wind gusts to 50 mph and pea size hail.
August 2004Heavy RainIdyllwild-no account filed
August 2003Flash FloodIdyllwild-no account filed
September 2001WildfireIdyllwild-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Riverside 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
Fern Valley1.7 miles40
Pine Cove1.7 miles40
Mountain Center2.5 miles37
Saddle Junction3.3 miles40
Pine Wood5.2 miles40
Valle Vista9.3 miles42
Thomas Mountain10.1 miles38
Snow Creek10.5 miles40

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.

Wikidata item Q49354339The 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 1660787. 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.