BlockBefore

North Fork, California

26 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 2004. It stands in the Oakhurst-North Fork census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93643. It stands on Pitcher Creek. The Survey maps it on the North Fork quadrangle. 3,250 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,638 feet above sea level.

North Fork within Madera County

Then and now

1912 to 2004

The same ground, surveyed 92 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of North Fork, surveyed 2004
Topographic sheet of North Fork, surveyed 1912

Compare 1912 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 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

328 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 328 fires within 5 miles of North Fork between 1992 and 2020, burning about 12,752 acres in total. 24 started naturally. 23 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/undetermined117
Debris and open burning64
Equipment and vehicle use49
Natural24
Arson/incendiarism23
Misuse of fire by a minor14
Recreation and ceremony14
Smoking11
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Other causes1
Fireworks1

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 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSierra National ForestPECKINPAH
8 September 2008Smoking1.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitRD 221 / PIUTE RD
7 September 2010Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSierra National ForestFORK
7 September 2009Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitRD 200 / WYLE RANCH RD
7 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitKOWANA LN NORTH_FORK
6 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.8 acresMerced-Mariposa Unit200
6 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined17 acresSierra National ForestCORRINE
6 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitMOUNTAIN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Madera County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of North Fork: 4 occurrences, 4 prospects, 4 producers, 2 unknowns. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Tungsten, Gold, Asbestos, Sodium. 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
Argus MineSodiumProducer
Thornberry DepositManganeseOccurrenceResidual
UnknownChromiumOccurrenceChromite
Calaveras MineAsbestosProducer
Santa Rita MineAsbestosProducer
Holbrooke and HarringtonGoldOccurrencePlacer
Marysville MineGoldProducer
Telles & Morton MineGoldProspect
Church RanchTungstenProspect
EllisTungstenUnknown

Every working recorded in Madera County

Storms near this place

7 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names North Fork in 7 storm reports between 2002 and 2023: 3 flood, 2 heavy rain, 1 wildfire, 1 flash flood. 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
November 2002WildfireNorth Fork$22,000The cause of the Rock Creek fire is unknown but it burned 420 acres before containment by Sierra NF crews.
March 2023Heavy RainNorth Fork-Public report of 2.86 inches of rainfall in 7.5 hours in North Fork.
January 2017FloodNorth Fork-Utility company reported that the mobile home park near Willow Creek and downstream from Crane Valley Dam was to be evacuated due to flood threat from planned Crane Valley Dam releases.
January 2017Flash FloodNorth Fork-Utility company reported that the mobile home park near Willow Creek and downstream from Crane Valley Dam was to be evacuated due to flood threat from planned Crane Valley Dam releases.
October 2009Heavy RainNorth Fork-North Fork RAWS station measured 5.32 inches 24 hour rainfall.
April 2006FloodNorth Fork-no account filed
April 2006FloodNorth Fork-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Madera 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
South Fork0.8 miles27
Cascadel Woods2.9 miles27
Bass Lake Annex3.2 miles24
Whisky Falls5.4 miles24
Fine Gold6.4 miles26
The Pines6.6 miles24
Bass Lake7.2 miles24
Central Camp8.4 miles24

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 North ForkAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3472728The 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 1659768. 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.