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Kettleman City, California

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1933 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Stratford census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93239. It stands on Arroyo Robador. The Survey maps it on the Kettleman City quadrangle. 1,242 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 253 feet above sea level.

Kettleman City within Kings County

Then and now

1933 to 1993

The same ground, surveyed 60 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Kettleman City, surveyed 1993
Topographic sheet of Kettleman City, surveyed 1933

Population over time

2 figures

Kettleman City fell from 1,439 to 1,242 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,439
20201,242-197 (-14%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 23 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

13 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 13 fires within 5 miles of Kettleman City between 1993 and 2017, burning about 184 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
Equipment and vehicle use5
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Firearms and explosives use1
Arson/incendiarism1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
6 September 2017Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
29 September 2006Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitCABEU 003756
8 August 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral California DistrictFOURTY ONE
29 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.9 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionAVENAL 3
31 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
30 July 2017Firearms and explosives use1.6 acresCentral California DistrictLOCKWOOD
26 July 2005Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
1 July 1993Equipment and vehicle use110 acresFresno-Kings UnitHWY.33

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kings County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Kettleman City: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Kings County

Storms near this place

9 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kettleman City in 9 storm reports between 2001 and 2019: 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 2 funnel cloud, 1 hail. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 2005Heavy RainKettleman City$10,000no account filed
April 2011FloodKettleman City$2,000Highway Patrol reported flooding on interstate 5 just north of Quebec Avenue.
May 2019Funnel CloudKettleman City-Reports on social media from a storm chaser with pictures of a funnel cloud near Kettlemen City.
June 2019Flash FloodKettleman City-California Highway Patrol reported very heavy rain flooding both northbound and southbound I-5 between Kettleman City and Avenal. CHP was pacing traffic in both directions following a brief closure.
February 2005HailKettleman City-Trained spotter reported 3/4 to 1" hail.
February 2005Flash FloodKettleman City-Calif Highway Patrol reported water and mud over the road at Quail Ave and 30th Avenue in Southwest Fresno County.
May 2005Funnel CloudKettleman City-Kings County Fire Dept reported seeiing 4 funnel clouds form and dissipate over a 30-minute time period on the 5th.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindKettleman City-A thunderstorm with impressive radar signatures of 63 dbz reflectivity and a VIL of 55 were observed in a remote corner of Kings and ultimately Kern Counties of Central California. No reports of damage were received from the lone tower thunderstorm during the late afternoon of the 26th.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindKettleman City-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Kings 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
Kettleman Station0.7 miles25
Millham City (historical)2.8 miles23
Murray6.3 miles23
Hydril7.2 miles23
Reef Station8.9 miles25
Avenal8.9 miles25
Stratford14.5 miles21
Acebedo17.6 miles21

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 Kettleman CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1908364The 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 1652733. 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.