BlockBefore

Lucia, California

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1921 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the Big Sur census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93920. It lies near Harlan Rock. The Survey maps it on the Lopez Point quadrangle. It stands 354 feet above sea level.

Lucia within Monterey County

Then and now

1921 to 1995

The same ground, surveyed 74 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Lucia, surveyed 1995
Topographic sheet of Lucia, surveyed 1921

Compare 1921 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 24 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

25 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 25 fires within 5 miles of Lucia between 1992 and 2020, burning about 50,893 acres in total. 4 started naturally. None 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined6
Recreation and ceremony6
Natural4
Equipment and vehicle use4
Debris and open burning3
Fireworks1
Smoking1

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 1992Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresLos Padres National ForestBLUESLIDE
8 September 1999Natural344 acresLos Padres National ForestKIRK
8 September 1999Naturalunder an acreLos Padres National ForestDEVIL
30 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined617 acresVandenberg Air Force Base Fire DepartmentHIGHWAY
24 September 1993Smokingunder an acreLos Padres National ForestRIGDON
13 September 1999Natural49,551 acresLos Padres National ForestHARE
17 August 2000Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreLos Padres National ForestARROYO SECO
16 August 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLos Padres National ForestLUCIA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Monterey 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 Lucia: 2 prospects, 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Gemstone, Manganese, Geothermal. 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
Dolan's Hot SpringsGeothermalProducer
Limekeln CreekGemstone, ManganeseProspect
Limekeln CreekGemstoneProducer
Limekiln CreekLimestone, GeneralProspectSedimentary
Limekiln Creek-LuciaLimestone, GeneralPast Producer

Every working recorded in Monterey County

Storms near this place

14 since 2004

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lucia in 14 storm reports between 2004 and 2026: 7 heavy rain, 4 debris flow, 1 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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
January 2026FloodLucia-Multiple landslides across California Highway 1 forced the closure of the road from mile marker 19 to mile marker 32, or Slates Hot Springs to south of Limekiln State Park.
February 2026Heavy RainLucia-The Mining Ridge rain gauge reported 6.10 inches of rain from 2:30 AM on February 10 to 11:10 PM on February 11.
March 2024Thunderstorm WindLucia-The PG&E operated station at Lime Creek Road recorded a wind gust of 62 miles per hour associated with a passing convective shower.
January 2021Debris FlowLucia-Photo on twitter showed debris flow on Highway 1 at Rat Creek within the Dolan Burn Scar area. Over 15 inches of rain fell near the area contributing to a large section of Highway 1 collapsing into the Pacific Ocean later that day. Exact cost of repairs is unknown, the section of highway will likely remain closed for months https://www.kron4.com/news/california/when-hwy-1-collapses-by-big-sur-caltrans-engineers-face-unique-challenges/.
January 2021Debris FlowLucia-Mudslide onto Hwy 1 at mile marker 27.
January 2021Debris FlowLucia-Video shows debris flow in Anderson Canyon this afternoon, exact timing unknown but estimated between 2 and 4 pm.
November 2019Heavy RainLucia-Temporary closure of Hwy 1 at Paul's Slide (mm 21.6) today at 5 pm until further notice, rainfall unknown.
January 2017Debris FlowLucia-Anderson Peak Rain Gauge reported one hour rain rates of 0.75 which met predefined rates necessary for debris flows.
February 2015Heavy RainLucia-Monterey County ALERT gauge on Mining Ridge at Elevation 3288 feet measured a 72 hour rainfall total of 9.53 inches.
November 2012Heavy RainLucia-Observations at 3288 feet elevation measured heavy rainfall. Minor urban and small stream flooding was observed across Monterey County due to the heavy rainfall.
November 2012Heavy RainLucia-Observations at 3288 feet elevation measured heavy rainfall. Minor urban and small stream flooding was observed across Monterey County due to the heavy rainfall.
November 2012Heavy RainLucia-Observations at 3368 feet elevation measured heavy rainfall. Minor urban and small stream flooding was observed across Monterey County due to the heavy rainfall.
November 2012Heavy RainLucia-Storm total rainfall of 8.03 inches measured at Mining Ridge RAWS site at 3288 feet elevation. 3.42 inches of this rain fell in the past 3 hours prior to the report. Minor flooding of urban areas and small streams was observed across Monterey County during this event.
December 2004Flash FloodLucia-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Monterey 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
Gorda7.5 miles29
Plaskett8.4 miles29
Slates Hot Springs8.4 miles19
Sans (historical)11.7 miles32
Tassajara Hot Springs14.7 miles23
Arroyo Center15.2 miles26
Hunter-Liggett16.5 miles25
Millers Ranch17.2 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 LuciaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6696610The 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 1660963. 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.