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Mettler, California

26 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1914 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the West Kern census division. The Survey maps it on the Mettler quadrangle. 90 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 541 feet above sea level.

Mettler within Kern County

Then and now

1914 to 1992

The same ground, surveyed 78 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Mettler, surveyed 1992
Topographic sheet of Mettler, surveyed 1914

Compare 1914 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Mettler fell from 136 to 90 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
2010136
202090-46 (-34%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 26 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

20 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 20 fires within 5 miles of Mettler between 1993 and 2020, burning about 1,352 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined11
Equipment and vehicle use4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Debris and open burning1
Arson/incendiarism1

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
4 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
3 September 2009Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
18 September 2005Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
14 September 2012Debris and open burningunder an acreKern County Fire Departmentnot named
14 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
10 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKern County Fire Departmentnot named
21 August 2018Power generation/transmission/distribution9.2 acresCentral California DistrictSABODAN
23 July 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined450 acresCentral California DistrictWATER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Mettler: 4 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
Hartman Concrete MaterialsSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unnamed QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Wheeler Ridge PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Wheeler Ridge Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Kern County

Storms near this place

23 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Mettler in 23 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 14 flood, 2 funnel cloud, 2 wildfire, 2 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
July 1999LightningMettler$110,000no account filed
October 2010Thunderstorm WindMettler$25,000The California Highway Patrol reported trees and power lines blown down in the vicinity of David Road and CA Highway 99 due to a severe thunderstorm.
March 2024Thunderstorm WindMettler$1,000California Highway Patrol reported a downed tree at the junction of SR 99 and SR 166.
November 2025FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reports roadway flooding along Copus Rd.
February 2024FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported the offramp flooded on SR 99 at the Copus Rd. exchange.
February 2024FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported the offramp flooded on SR 99 at the SR 166 exchange.
February 2024FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding on both lanes of Copus Rd. near Interstate 5.
February 2023FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported flooding on David Rd. between Wheeler Ridge Rd. and Rancho Dr.
February 2023FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported flooding on Sandrini Rd. between Adobe Rd. and Wheeler Ridge Rd.
February 2023FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported Herring Rd. was closed west of SR 99 due to flooding.
February 2023FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported Copus Rd. was closed between I-5 and Old River Rd. due to flooding.
August 2023FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding at northbound SR 99 and SR 166 just south of Mettler.
August 2023Flash FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported the northbound lanes of SR 99 were completely flooded at the intersection of SR 99 and SR 166.
February 2019Funnel CloudMettler-Several photos were posted on Facebook of a funnel cloud near the intersection of State Route 99 and Sandrini Road.
May 2019FloodMettler-California Highway report reported roadway flooding on Wheeler Ridge Rd. east of Mettler.
February 2017FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported northbound State Route 99 near Copus Road north of Mettler covered in mud and water due to heavy rainfall.
February 2017FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported road flooding at State Route 166 and Interstate 5 and the on-ramp to northbound Interstate 5 near Mettler.
February 2017FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol reported road flooding across the intersection of Wheeler Ridge Road and David Road south of Meridian.
July 2015Flash FloodMettler-California Highway Patrol initially reported one foot of water on Wheeler Ridge Road just north of David road at 20:12 PDT. At 05:00 a follow up report was received of flooding at the intersection.
July 2003WildfireMettler-The Grapevine Fire fought by Kern County Fire Department burned 1830 acres. The cause and cost are unknown but no structures or lives were lost.
June 1999WildfireMettler-Digier Fire. Burned 350 acres in the far south end of the San Joaquin Valley. No structures were lost and there were no injuries. Cost to contain the blaze by 7/1/99 unknown.
January 2001FloodMettler-no account filed
July 1999Funnel CloudMettler-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Kern 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
Meridian4.2 miles26
Wheeler Ridge4.2 miles26
Kern Lake7.6 miles26
Lakeview7.7 miles25
Grapevine8.7 miles25
Conner11.1 miles26
Alameda12.1 miles26
Vaccaro (historical)12.2 miles28

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 MettlerAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2424510The 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 245837. 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.