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Pacific Beach, California

34 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the San Diego census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92109. It lies near West Ski Island. The Survey maps it on the La Jolla quadrangle.

Pacific Beach within San Diego County

Then and now

1903 to 1996

The same ground, surveyed 93 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Pacific Beach, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Pacific Beach, surveyed 1903

Compare 1903 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 34 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

153 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 153 fires within 5 miles of Pacific Beach between 2005 and 2020, burning about 44 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 25 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/undetermined88
Arson/incendiarism25
Debris and open burning13
Smoking10
Equipment and vehicle use7
Misuse of fire by a minor7
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
8 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Diego Unitnot named
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
4 September 2009Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
4 September 2005Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
30 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
30 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
26 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Diego Unitnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Diego County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Pacific Beach: 6 past producers, 2 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Salt, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Dave Martin Pro. GravelGraniteUnknown
Portuguese FlatSaltPast Producer
Twin Oaks PitStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
La Jolla Clay Products Co.ClayPast ProducerSedimentary
La Jolla Clay Products Co.ClayPast Producer
Union Brick Co. Mine, East PitClayPast Producer
Union Brick Co. Mine, North PitClayPast Producer
Union Brick Company Mine, West PitClayPast Producer

Every working recorded in San Diego County

Storms near this place

6 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Pacific Beach in 6 storm reports between 1998 and 2026: 3 flood, 1 rip current, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 debris flow. The reports record 2 deaths and 2 injuries. 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
January 2016Thunderstorm WindPacific Beach1 killed, 2 hurt, $75,000A pine tree 8 ft in diameter succumbed to strong winds, falling on 4 cars and killing a 48 year old woman who was driving down Ingraham Street. An additional tree fell during the cleanup operations, injuring 2 reporters.
July 1999Rip CurrentPacific Beach1 killedA 19 year old male, visiting from Tucson, AZ , entered the water after being warned by friends not to, was caught in a rip current and drowned.
January 2026FloodPacific Beach-Flooding under the bridge on I-5S/Garnet Ave.
January 2024FloodPacific Beach-CalTrans report of flooding on I-5 near Mission Bay.
April 2020Debris FlowPacific Beach-Flooding on I-5 northbound offramp to Garnet/Grand Streets causing the ramp to temporarily close.
July 1998FloodPacific 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
Riviera Shores0.9 miles34
Mission Beach1.2 miles23
Ladrillo (historical)1.8 miles34
Morena2.1 miles34
Bay Park2.1 miles34
La Jolla Hermosa2.1 miles23
Bayside Village2.3 miles34
The Muirlands2.3 miles23

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1661167. 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.