BlockBefore

Midoil, California

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the West Kern census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93224. It lies near Hale McLeod Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Fellows quadrangle. It stands 1,339 feet above sea level.

Midoil within Kern County

Then and now

1912 to 1981

The same ground, surveyed 69 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Midoil, surveyed 1981
Topographic sheet of Midoil, surveyed 1912

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 23 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

384 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 384 fires within 5 miles of Midoil between 1992 and 2020, burning about 18,674 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 24 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/undetermined150
Power generation/transmission/distribution94
Equipment and vehicle use61
Misuse of fire by a minor31
Arson/incendiarism24
Natural9
Debris and open burning6
Smoking4
Recreation and ceremony3
Firearms and explosives use1
Other causes1

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
8 September 1999Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0617
7 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKern County Fire DepartmentELK HILLS
7 September 1998Power generation/transmission/distribution15 acresCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0546
6 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
4 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0788
4 September 2000Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0651
4 September 1999Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0114
3 September 2012Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreKern County Fire Departmentnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Midoil: 4 past producers, 2 occurrences, 2 producers, 1 prospect. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Uranium, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, Fullers Earth. 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
Excel PitFullers EarthProducer
Elkhorn Pit and MillClayPast ProducerSedimentary
Elkhorn Pit and MillClayProducer
Fellows Quarry No. 2Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Taft QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Mitchell PropertyUraniumOccurrence
Quality Oil Company PropertyUraniumProspect
T. P. ClaimsUraniumOccurrence
Tres Amigos GroupUraniumPast Producer

Every working 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
Warren (historical)0.7 miles23
Fellows1.7 miles23
Taft Heights3.1 miles24
Wallace Center3.1 miles24
Ford City3.5 miles24
Taft3.7 miles24
South Taft3.9 miles24
Spellacy4.1 miles23

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 MidoilAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6842894The 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 252939. 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.