BlockBefore

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.

Lake Arrowhead within San Bernardino County

Then and now

1899 to 1996

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Lake Arrowhead, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Lake Arrowhead, surveyed 1899

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

Population over time

2 figures

Lake 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.

YearPeople Change
201012,424
202012,401-23 (-0%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

17 surveys from 38 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

538 since 1992

Regional 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/undetermined233
Equipment and vehicle use60
Misuse of fire by a minor44
Other causes43
Natural41
Recreation and ceremony38
Arson/incendiarism30
Smoking27
Power generation/transmission/distribution11
Debris and open burning8
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
9 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionEMERALD
9 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionFERN DR TWIN_PEAKS
9 September 2012Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestDEEP
9 September 2009Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestSHORE
9 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Bernardino Unitnot named
8 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestSEELEY
8 September 1999Other causes1.0 acresSan Bernardino National ForestSPYGLASS
7 September 2014Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestTORREY

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Bernardino County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Bossard Nos. 1-24Gold, Beryllium, REEProspect
Carmine ClaimGraniteUnknown
Heaps Peak QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Keystone and Lucky JimFeldspar, Mica, SilicaPast Producer
Old Quarry Nos. 1 and 2Gold, Silver, Limestone, DimensionProspect

Every working recorded in San Bernardino County

Storms near this place

24 since 1999

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
February 2000Heavy RainLake Arrowhead2 killed, 3 hurt, $400,000no account filed
August 1999WildfireLake Arrowhead6 hurt, $2,000,000no account filed
January 2000WildfireLake Arrowhead1 hurt, $30,000no account filed
January 2005Flash FloodLake Arrowhead$1,700,000no account filed
January 2005Flash FloodLake Arrowhead$500,000no account filed
February 2004Flash FloodLake Arrowhead$30,000no account filed
October 2000WildfireLake Arrowhead$30,000no account filed
July 2001FloodLake Arrowhead$20,000no account filed
July 2018LightningLake Arrowhead$10,000Two 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 2021Debris FlowLake Arrowhead$5,000Hospital Road and State Route 173 roadway damage reported from heavy rain. 1.18 inches rainfall in 3 hours reported nearby.
February 2006Flash FloodLake Arrowhead$5,000Heavy rain caused mud and rocks to wash across highway 18 between Lake Gregory Rd and Bailey Rd.
January 2005Flash FloodLake Arrowhead$5,000no account filed
January 2005Flash FloodLake Arrowhead$1,000no account filed
February 2025Heavy RainLake Arrowhead-A report taken from Lake arrowhead at 5200 feet had 6.96 inches of total rainfall.
February 2025Heavy RainLake Arrowhead-Mesonet station CGLC1 2.9 N Running Springs reported a total precipitation of 6.38 inches.
January 2023FloodLake 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 2022Heavy RainLake 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 2022Flash FloodLake 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 2021Heavy RainLake 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 2014LightningLake Arrowhead-Lightning on the 17th eventually ignited the Strawberry Fire just southwest of Lake Arrowhead, with the aid of offshore winds.
March 2012Heavy RainLake 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 2005Flash FloodLake Arrowhead-no account filed
August 2005Flash FloodLake Arrowhead-no account filed
August 2001WildfireLake Arrowhead-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Bernardino 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
Skyforest1.0 miles38
Crest Park1.1 miles38
Blue Jay1.1 miles38
Meadowbrook Woods1.2 miles38
Cedar Glen1.4 miles32
North Shore1.4 miles32
Agua Fria1.7 miles38
Rimforest2.3 miles38

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 ArrowheadAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q979424The 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.