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Oakhurst, California

25 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 93644. It stands on China Creek. The Survey maps it on the Ahwahnee quadrangle. 5,945 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,274 feet above sea level.

Oakhurst 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 Oakhurst, surveyed 2004
Topographic sheet of Oakhurst, surveyed 1912

Compare 1912 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Oakhurst grew from 2,829 to 5,945 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
20102,829
20205,945+3,116 (+110%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 25 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

499 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 499 fires within 5 miles of Oakhurst between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,265 acres in total. 15 started naturally. 40 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/undetermined224
Equipment and vehicle use74
Debris and open burning73
Arson/incendiarism40
Misuse of fire by a minor34
Recreation and ceremony21
Natural15
Smoking9
Power generation/transmission/distribution6
Other causes2
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 2020Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitHWY 41 OAKHURST
8 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionACORN DR OAKHURST
8 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitWINDING
8 September 2005Equipment and vehicle use5.8 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitALPACA
8 September 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitMOORE
7 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionBROKEN
7 September 2012Debris and open burningunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitPINE
7 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitRIVER FALLS LN OAKHURST

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Madera County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 70 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 70 workings within 5 miles of Oakhurst: 31 past producers, 24 prospects, 7 unknowns, 5 occurrences. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Tungsten, Manganese, Silver. 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
Carol Jane 1 and 2Feldspar, TungstenProspect
Gaylord Borrow PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Joe Devaney Sand & Gravel Co.Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, SilverProducer
Owl No. 1 and 2Gold, Iron, LeadPast Producer
Zircon Springs Mining GroupZirconiumOccurrence
Broken ShovelGold, SilverProspect
Gertrude M.Gold, SilverPast Producer
Owl No. 1 and No. 2Gold, SilverUnknown
Krohn ProspectManganeseOccurrenceRhodonite, Spessartite
Krohn ProspectManganeseProspect

Every working recorded in Madera County

Storms near this place

14 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oakhurst in 14 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 5 flood, 3 heavy rain, 3 debris flow, 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
July 2003WildfireOakhurst$680,000The North Fork Fire was fought by California Division of Forestry and burned 360 acres. The cause was human but no fatalities or structures were lost.
December 2010FloodOakhurst$35,000At 2205 PST on the 17th the CHP reported rock slides on State Route 49 at Harmony Lane, 3 miles WNW of Oakhurst in Madera County. Several other flood reports on the 18th and 19th in the Madera area and nearby foothills.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindOakhurst$10,000Thunderstorm activity through Central California included the mountain area. An Oakhurst spotter in Eastern Madera County reported a TSTM with 50 MPH wind and locally heavy rain early in the afternoon of 2/23/98.
March 2025Debris FlowOakhurst$5,000California Highway Patrol reported a boulder fell onto a moving car on SR 41 near the Deadwood Lookout Court intersection.
March 2023FloodOakhurst-California Highway Patrol reported water and debris flooding SR 41 in the southern part of Oakhurst.
March 2023FloodOakhurst-California Highway Patrol reported a mudslide on SR 41 near Victoria Ln.
March 2023FloodOakhurst-California Highway Patrol reported a large boulder partially blocking the southbound lane of SR 41 south of Deadwood.
December 2022Debris FlowOakhurst-California Highway Patrol reported a mudslide on SR 41 in Oakhurst.
December 2022Debris FlowOakhurst-California Highway Patrol reported a mudslide at the intersection of SR 41 and Hodges Hill Dr. in Oakhurst.
May 2008Heavy RainOakhurst-Heavy rain fell near Oakhurst, causing minor flooding. A Madera County Sheriff station reported significant standing water on local roads near Oakhurst, but no flowing water. The Oakhurst (DW0273) station reported 0.57 inches of rain in less than 1 hour.
November 2001FloodOakhurst-no account filed
September 2000LightningOakhurst-no account filed
January 1997Heavy RainOakhurst-no account filed
December 1996Heavy RainOakhurst-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
Yosemite Forks2.9 miles25
Old Corral3.0 miles24
Ahwahnee Estates4.1 miles25
Bass Lake4.4 miles24
Ahwahnee4.8 miles25
The Pines5.1 miles24
Coarsegold5.3 miles25
Grub Gulch (historical)6.4 miles25

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 OakhurstAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2008503The 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 277565. 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.