Lake Arrowhead, California
38 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Lake Arrowhead census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92352. It lies near Kuffel Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Harrison Mountain quadrangle. 12,401 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,174 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1899 to 1996The same ground, surveyed 97 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1899 against another survey:
On record in Lake Arrowhead
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 1 record
Shady Pointlisted 2009
Population over time
2 figuresLake Arrowhead fell from 12,424 to 12,401 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 12,424 | |
| 2020 | 12,401 | -23 (-0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
17 surveys from 38 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.
- 1899 USGS Redlands quadrangle1:62500
- 1901 USGS Redlands quadrangle1:62500, 9 printings
- 1901 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Harrison Mtn. quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Redlands quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1966 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Harrison Mtn quadrangle1:24000
- 1967 USGS Harrison Mtn. quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1975 USGS Harrison Mtn. quadrangle1:24000
- 1982 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:100000
- 1996 USGS Harrison Mountain quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
538 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 538 fires within 5 miles of Lake Arrowhead between 1992 and 2020, burning about 72,043 acres in total. 41 started naturally. 30 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 | 233 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 60 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 44 |
| Other causes | 43 |
| Natural | 41 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 38 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 30 |
| Smoking | 27 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 11 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Fireworks | 3 |
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 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | EMERALD |
| 9 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | FERN DR TWIN_PEAKS |
| 9 September 2012 | Natural | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | DEEP |
| 9 September 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | SHORE |
| 9 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Bernardino Unit | not named |
| 8 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | SEELEY |
| 8 September 1999 | Other causes | 1.0 acres | San Bernardino National Forest | SPYGLASS |
| 7 September 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | TORREY |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Lake Arrowhead: 2 prospects, 2 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Limestone, Dimension, Feldspar, Mica, Silica. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bossard Nos. 1-24 | Gold, Beryllium, REE | Prospect | ||
| Carmine Claim | Granite | Unknown | ||
| Heaps Peak Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Keystone and Lucky Jim | Feldspar, Mica, Silica | Past Producer | ||
| Old Quarry Nos. 1 and 2 | Gold, Silver, Limestone, Dimension | Prospect |
Storms near this place
24 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lake Arrowhead in 24 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 9 flash flood, 6 heavy rain, 4 wildfire, 2 flood. The reports record 2 deaths and 10 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2000 | Heavy Rain | Lake Arrowhead | 2 killed, 3 hurt, $400,000 | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Wildfire | Lake Arrowhead | 6 hurt, $2,000,000 | no account filed |
| January 2000 | Wildfire | Lake Arrowhead | 1 hurt, $30,000 | no account filed |
| January 2005 | Flash Flood | Lake Arrowhead | $1,700,000 | no account filed |
| January 2005 | Flash Flood | Lake Arrowhead | $500,000 | no account filed |
| February 2004 | Flash Flood | Lake Arrowhead | $30,000 | no account filed |
| October 2000 | Wildfire | Lake Arrowhead | $30,000 | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Flood | Lake Arrowhead | $20,000 | no account filed |
| July 2018 | Lightning | Lake Arrowhead | $10,000 | Two cloud-to-ground strikes occurred outside of a rain shaft. Highway Patrol reported brush fire start just west of Lake Arrowhead. Other strikes were detected just to the east and also outside of the main rain shaft near Big Bear Lake. |
| October 2021 | Debris Flow | Lake Arrowhead | $5,000 | Hospital Road and State Route 173 roadway damage reported from heavy rain. 1.18 inches rainfall in 3 hours reported nearby. |
| February 2006 | Flash Flood | Lake Arrowhead | $5,000 | Heavy rain caused mud and rocks to wash across highway 18 between Lake Gregory Rd and Bailey Rd. |
| January 2005 | Flash Flood | Lake Arrowhead | $5,000 | no account filed |
| January 2005 | Flash Flood | Lake Arrowhead | $1,000 | no account filed |
| February 2025 | Heavy Rain | Lake Arrowhead | - | A report taken from Lake arrowhead at 5200 feet had 6.96 inches of total rainfall. |
| February 2025 | Heavy Rain | Lake Arrowhead | - | Mesonet station CGLC1 2.9 N Running Springs reported a total precipitation of 6.38 inches. |
| January 2023 | Flood | Lake Arrowhead | - | The Department of Highways reported water flowing over Highway 173 at Arrowhead Lake Road, with a vehicle stuck in the floodwaters. The area had received 4.99 inch of rain in the previous 24 hours, with rainfall totals of 5.83 inches for the event. |
| October 2022 | Heavy Rain | Lake Arrowhead | - | Heavy rain from thunderstorms occurred across the San Bernardino County Mountains on October 11. The following are measured rainfall from the region:||Mesonet station YUCC1 Yucaipa Ridge measured rainfall of 1.62 inch.|Mesonet station CAGC1 measured rainfall of 0.87 inch.||In addition, a trained spotter reported 1.44 inch of rain as well as minor hail accumulation on roadways near Lake Arrowhead. |
| September 2022 | Flash Flood | Lake Arrowhead | - | Heavy rain associated with residual moisture from post-tropical cyclone Kay occurred during the afternoon on September 12 in the San Bernardino County Mountains. Rain amounts of 1.5 to 3 inches occurred in the region. The Department of Highways reported a flash flood near Crestline, with multiple vehicles stuck in flood water on Lake Drive at Forest Shade Drive. The following are measured rain amounts from various Mesonet sites:||Mesonet Station FW1313, 1 WNW Running Springs: 3.58 inch.|Strawberry Peak, 3 WSW Lake Arrowhead: 2.88 inch.|Heaps Peak RAWS, 3 NW Running Springs: 2.68 inch.|Mesonet Station CRQC1, 1 SSW Lake Arrowhead: 1.74 inch.|Mesonet Station PPOC1 Panorama Point, 2 SSW Crestline: 1.66 inch.|Mesonet Station FW0025 Lake Arrowhead South, 1 SE Lake Arrowhead: 1.52 inch. |
| October 2021 | Heavy Rain | Lake Arrowhead | - | Heavy rain occurred across the area with storm totals mainly 1 to 2 inches. The Lake Arrowhead area received the highest amounts, with stations reporting over 2.5 inches of rain in total. The Lytle creek and Lake Arrowhead areas received some impressive rainfall rates, some measuring near 0.85 inches of rain in one hour. |
| November 2014 | Lightning | Lake Arrowhead | - | Lightning on the 17th eventually ignited the Strawberry Fire just southwest of Lake Arrowhead, with the aid of offshore winds. |
| March 2012 | Heavy Rain | Lake Arrowhead | - | Several rock and mud slides on Highway 18 between Lake Gregory and Running Springs due to heavy rain throughout the afternoon and evening. |
| January 2005 | Flash Flood | Lake Arrowhead | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Flash Flood | Lake Arrowhead | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Wildfire | Lake Arrowhead | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skyforest | 1.0 miles | 38 | |
| Crest Park | 1.1 miles | 38 | |
| Blue Jay | 1.1 miles | 38 | |
| Meadowbrook Woods | 1.2 miles | 38 | |
| Cedar Glen | 1.4 miles | 32 | |
| North Shore | 1.4 miles | 32 | |
| Agua Fria | 1.7 miles | 38 | |
| Rimforest | 2.3 miles | 38 |
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 Lake Arrowhead | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q979424 | 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 1652738. 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.
















