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Ocean Beach, California

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1904 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the San Diego census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92107. It lies near Alligator Rock. The Survey maps it on the Point Loma OE W quadrangle.

Ocean Beach within San Diego County

Then and now

1904 to 1996

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 Ocean Beach, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Ocean Beach, surveyed 1904

Compare 1904 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 24 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

97 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 97 fires within 5 miles of Ocean Beach between 2003 and 2020, burning about 20 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 18 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/undetermined54
Arson/incendiarism18
Debris and open burning9
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Smoking5
Equipment and vehicle use3
Natural2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
5 September 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2005Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
25 September 2005Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
20 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
20 September 2005Naturalunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
20 September 2005Naturalunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
19 September 2010Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
18 September 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Diego County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Ocean Beach: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Salt, Clay. 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
Portuguese FlatSaltPast Producer
Union Brick Company Mine, West PitClayPast Producer

Every working recorded in San Diego County

Storms near this place

12 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ocean Beach in 12 storm reports between 1998 and 2015: 3 flood, 2 waterspout, 2 rip current, 2 funnel cloud. The reports record 2 deaths. 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
May 1999Rip CurrentOcean Beach1 killedA 22 year old student from Switzerland who went out in rough surf, got caught in a rip current off Sunset Cliffs Park near the end of Guizot Street and drowned.
March 2001Rip CurrentOcean Beach1 killedno account filed
February 2014Thunderstorm WindOcean Beach$8,000Fox 5 news reported a large tree down in Ocean Beach. San Diego Lindbergh ASOS had a gust of 45 mph at the time. This storm was on the southern end of a squall line (no lightning detected), so possible wet microburst mixing down 50 mph winds at 1 to 2 kft. The same news station reported a 50-year-old tree downed by high winds near downtown San Diego around the same time. Several other trees were downed in the area with this line as well.
December 1998Storm Surge/TideOcean Beach$2,500no account filed
May 2015Flash FloodOcean Beach-There were reports of San Diego fire and police responding to multiple (6 incidents) swift water rescues in the Midway and Mission Hills neighborhoods.
November 2015FloodOcean Beach-News media reports flooding near Federal Blvd. and San Miguel Ave in Lemon Grove, with debris also covering the road. Two blocks were impassable with water up to the doors of vehicles on College Ave. off of State Route 94. Pacific Highway was closed from Juniper to Laurel Streets due to flooding. San Diego County officials reported that Quarry Dip Road was closed between Lakeview Road and State Route 125 in Spring Valley due to flooding.
December 2012FloodOcean Beach-Media reports road closures and stalled cars at the intersection of Midway and Rosecrans. At least 5 motorists were trapped in their vehicles and had to be rescued by the lifeguard water rescue team. Roadway flooding was also reported along Sports Arena and West Mission Bay Drive, as well as northbound Interstate 5 and Garnet, where one vehicle was stuck in water. Lifeguard rescue crews retrieved a man trapped in his stalled vehicle along Ingraham just south of Sea World. CHP reported two highway ramp closures due to flooding: the I-5 northbound onramp at 28th Street and the off ramp at SR-163 and Washington. Flooding also reported on northbound I-5 at the Balboa off ramp. Several mudslides including one on south Interstate 5 at Balboa Avenue and another on Regents Road near SR 52, where mud was covering all lanes at 0500 PST.
February 2004Funnel CloudOcean Beach-no account filed
February 2001WaterspoutOcean Beach-no account filed
June 2000Funnel CloudOcean Beach-no account filed
February 1998FloodOcean Beach-no account filed
February 1998WaterspoutOcean Beach-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Diego 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
Sunset Cliffs1.0 miles24
Riviera Villas1.2 miles24
Fleetridge1.2 miles34
Roseville1.7 miles34
Azure Vista1.8 miles15
Loma Portal1.9 miles34
La Playa2.3 miles34
Mission Beach2.6 miles23

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1661134. 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.