BlockBefore

O'Brien, California

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1998. It stands in the Sacramento Canyon census division. It lies in ZIP code area 96051. It stands on O'Brien Mountain. The Survey maps it on the O'Brien quadrangle. It stands 1,234 feet above sea level.

O'Brien within Shasta County

Then and now

1890 to 1998

The same ground, surveyed 108 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of O'Brien, surveyed 1998
Topographic sheet of O'Brien, surveyed 1890

Compare 1890 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 28 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

312 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 312 fires within 5 miles of O'Brien between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,034 acres in total. 37 started naturally. 29 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
Equipment and vehicle use87
Missing data/not specified/undetermined62
Recreation and ceremony42
Natural37
Arson/incendiarism29
Debris and open burning23
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Fireworks5
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Smoking5
Railroad operations and maintenance5
Other causes2

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 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresShasta-Trinity UnitPLAINS
8 September 2004Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreShasta-Trinity National ForestCOLD
8 September 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreShasta-Trinity National ForestGILMAN
8 September 1994Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreShasta-Trinity National Forestnot named
7 September 2008Arson/incendiarism343 acresShasta-Trinity National ForestELMORE
6 September 2017Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreShasta-Trinity National ForestKAM
6 September 2004Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreShasta-Trinity National ForestAUSTIN
6 September 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreShasta-Trinity National ForestBAILEY

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Shasta County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 53 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 53 workings within 5 miles of O'Brien: 23 occurrences, 10 past producers, 7 producers, 7 prospects. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Copper, Iron, Barium-Barite, Limestone, General. 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
Black Diamond GroupCopper, Silver, GoldPast ProducerReplacement
Blue JacketGold, Copper, SilverOccurrence
Haley GroupSilver, Gold, CopperOccurrenceBornite, Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Pyrite
Kane and WilburCopper, Iron, NickelOccurrenceChalcopyrite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Pyrrhotite
Minnie HaleyCopper, Gold, SilverUnknown
OccurrenceSilicaOccurrence
TraskCalciumPast Producer
Gray Rocks QuarryLimestone, GeneralProducer
Pit River ConsolidatedManganeseProducerResidual
Shasta Copper MinesManganesePast Producer1917

Every working recorded in Shasta County

Storms near this place

1 since 2025

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names O'Brien in 1 storm report in 2025: 1 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
December 2025FloodO Brien-California Highway Patrol reported standing water on Interstate 5 at Pit River Bridge from heavy rain.

Every storm recorded in Shasta 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
Holiday Harbor Resort1.0 miles28
Lakeview Resort1.7 miles28
Baird (historical)2.0 miles28
Mabel (historical)3.2 miles29
Elmore (historical)3.8 miles29
Morley (historical)3.9 miles29
Sugarloaf5.0 miles29
Portal Inn5.3 miles30

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 O'BrienAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7071664The 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 1659769. 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.