Owl, California
40 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the San Gorgonio Pass census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92230. It stands on Potrero Creek. The Survey maps it on the Cabazon quadrangle.
Then and now
1901 to 1996The same ground, surveyed 95 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1901 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
15 surveys from 40 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1901 USGS San Jacinto quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1901 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1942 USGS Banning quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1943 USGS Banning quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Banning quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Cabazon quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1956 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Palm Springs quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
- 1996 USGS Cabazon quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
1,062 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1,062 fires within 5 miles of Owl between 1992 and 2020, burning about 109,141 acres in total. 10 started naturally. 227 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/undetermined | 416 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 227 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 187 |
| Smoking | 75 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 61 |
| Debris and open burning | 50 |
| Fireworks | 14 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 11 |
| Natural | 10 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 9 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | San Bernardino National Forest | EDNA |
| 9 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Riverside Unit | I 10 E/ MAIN ST 34 |
| 9 September 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Riverside Unit | STATE 1738 |
| 9 September 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Riverside Unit | ESPERANZA |
| 9 September 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Riverside Unit | BONITA |
| 9 September 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Riverside Unit | STATE |
| 8 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Southern California Agency | SULLIVAN |
| 8 September 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Riverside Unit | I 10 E/ FIELDS RD OFRP |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Owl: 4 past producers, 1 plant. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Tungsten, Magnesite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Portal Rock Stockpile | Magnesite | Plant | 1960, 1976 | |
| New World Tungsten Mine | Tungsten | Past Producer | ||
| Beaumont Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Cabazon Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Matich Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
1 since 2023Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Owl in 1 storm report in 2023: 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2023 | Flash Flood | Owl | - | Multiple reports of roadway flooding on I-10 in Cabazon. |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabazon | 1.8 miles | 40 | |
| Banning | 3.1 miles | 45 | |
| Mons | 3.8 miles | 40 | |
| Highland Springs | 7.2 miles | 45 | |
| Snow Creek | 7.5 miles | 40 | |
| Beaumont | 8.5 miles | 45 | |
| Pine Wood | 8.9 miles | 40 | |
| Cherry Valley | 9.0 miles | 45 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 272824. 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.














