Lake Isabella, California
28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1906 and the latest in 1978. It stands in the Lake Isabella census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93240. It lies near Hot Spring Valley. The Survey maps it on the Lake Isabella South quadrangle. 3,573 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,513 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1906 to 1978The same ground, surveyed 72 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Population over time
2 figuresLake Isabella grew from 3,466 to 3,573 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 | 3,466 | |
| 2020 | 3,573 | +107 (+3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 28 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.
- 1906 USGS Kernville quadrangle1:125000
- 1908 USGS Kernville quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1943 USGS Isabella quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1943 USGS Isabella Dam quadrangle1:62500
- 1948 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1966 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Lake Isabella South quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1978 USGS Isabella Lake quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
440 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 440 fires within 5 miles of Lake Isabella between 1992 and 2020, burning about 62,448 acres in total. 20 started naturally. 26 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 | 184 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 54 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 43 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 41 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 26 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 23 |
| Natural | 20 |
| Fireworks | 17 |
| Debris and open burning | 16 |
| Smoking | 15 |
| Other causes | 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 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.0 acres | Sequoia National Forest | AUXILLARY |
| 9 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Central California District | UNNAMED FIRE 1069 |
| 8 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | LAKE |
| 7 September 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | GULCH |
| 6 September 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | HUNGRY |
| 6 September 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | HUNGRY |
| 6 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Central California District | UNNAMED FIRE 0193 |
| 6 September 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Central California District | UNNAMED FIRE 0950 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 68 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 68 workings within 5 miles of Lake Isabella: 33 past producers, 11 occurrences, 10 prospects, 9 producers. 9 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Tungsten, Copper, Uranium. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Jack | Lead, Zinc | Past Producer | Replacement | |
| Black Jack | Zinc, Lead, Tin | Producer | ||
| Black Jack | Lead, Zinc | Past Producer | ||
| Cook Peak Deposit | Stone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Erskine Creek Deposits | Limestone, General | Occurrence | ||
| Isabella Readimix Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| French Gulch | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Last Chance Prospect | Uranium, Tungsten | Prospect | ||
| Pioneer Nos. 1 and 2 | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Utopia Claims | Uranium | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
25 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lake Isabella in 25 storm reports between 1997 and 2019: 7 wildfire, 6 heavy rain, 4 hail, 3 flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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 | Wildfire | Lake Isabella | 1 hurt, $1,000,000 | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Wildfire | Lake Isabella | $800,000 | The Sawmill fire at Dutch Flat consumed 536 acres and burned 4 primary residences and 6 outbuildings. There were no fatalities on the fire that cost $800K to combat. |
| July 2003 | Wildfire | Lake Isabella | $650,000 | The China Fire within Sequoia National Forest burned approximately 819 acres in the Kern River Canyon southwest of Lake Isabella. The fire was lightning caused but no structures or lives were lost. The fire was 85% contained at the end of July having burned 509 acres at that time. This fire was the largest of approximately fourteen forest and grass fires started due to lightning around this time period around this area of Kern County. |
| January 2017 | Flood | Lake Isabella | $150,000 | California Highway Patrol reported Lynch Canyon Road with 1 to 2 inches of roadway flooding near State Route 178 in Mountain Mesa. |
| September 2003 | Hail | Lake Isabella | $15,000 | no account filed |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Isabella | $5,000 | no account filed |
| January 2019 | Flood | Lake Isabella | - | California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding on Joshua St. in South Lake. |
| September 2018 | Heavy Rain | Lake Isabella | - | A slow moving thunderstorm produced 1.07 inches of rainfall at Lake Isabella between 330 pm PDT and 430 pm PDT. |
| December 2016 | Heavy Rain | Lake Isabella | - | Spotter 24 hour rainfall report of 2.50 inches. |
| December 2016 | Heavy Rain | Lake Isabella | - | Trained spotter reports rainfall report of 2.50 inches near Mountain Mesa. |
| February 2014 | Heavy Rain | Lake Isabella | - | Heavy rainfall in Lake Isabella. |
| August 2003 | Wildfire | Lake Isabella | - | The China Fire started in July and was contained late in the day on August 4th...see July Stormdata. |
| June 2003 | Wildfire | Lake Isabella | - | The Royce fire origination was unknown but it destroyed 2 outbuildings and the cost to combat was undetermined. There were no fatalities. |
| July 2003 | Wildfire | Lake Isabella | - | The Point Fire was fought by Sequoia National Forest and burned 180 acres. The cause and cost is unknown but no structures or lives were lost. |
| August 2000 | Lightning | Lake Isabella | - | Overhead thunderstorm had a lightning strike that started a small fire east of Lake Isabella. The Kern County Fire Department responded to 13 lightning caused blazes in the Extreme Southern Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountain area between 1 to 4 AM. |
| May 1999 | Flood | Lake Isabella | - | Thunderstorm activity was prevalent over the mountains of the Southern Sierra Nevada, especially in the vicinity of Lake Isabella in Kern County. A thunderstorm brought locally heavy rain to Onyx, 14 miles east of Lake Isabella, by 1526 PDT but no reports of problems. However, heavy rain in a thunderstorm at 1711 PDT brought local flooding to areas just south of the town of Lake Isabella. |
| September 1997 | Hail | Lake Isabella | - | Report of this severe thunderstorm was delayed until the next day but hail size was reported by long-time observers at Mountain Mesa (4 miles east of the town of Lake Isabella) |
| September 1997 | Wildfire | Lake Isabella | - | The Thornton Wildfire in the Sequoia National Forest caused by a lightning strike approximately 5 miles southeast of Lake Isabella. Cost figures unavailable but it burned 150 acres. |
| August 2005 | Hail | Lake Isabella | - | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Hail | Lake Isabella | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Heavy Rain | Lake Isabella | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Flash Flood | Lake Isabella | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Flash Flood | Lake Isabella | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Heavy Rain | Lake Isabella | - | no account filed |
| August 2000 | Lightning | Lake Isabella | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scovern Hot Springs (historical) | 0.2 miles | 28 | |
| Keyesville | 2.1 miles | 25 | |
| Bodfish | 2.3 miles | 28 | |
| Isabella (historical) | 2.7 miles | 28 | |
| Squirrel Mountain Valley | 3.4 miles | 28 | |
| Mountain Mesa | 3.9 miles | 28 | |
| Miracle Hot Springs (historical) | 4.4 miles | 24 | |
| South Lake | 5.8 miles | 28 |
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 Isabella | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2495360 | 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 1652739. 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.











