Pala Mesa, California
31 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Fallbrook census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92028. It stands on Keys Creek. The Survey maps it on the Bonsall quadrangle.
Then and now
1901 to 1982The same ground, surveyed 81 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
13 surveys from 31 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 Luis Rey quadrangle1:125000, 8 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 2 quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1942 USGS Temecula quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS Bonsall quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1949 USGS Bonsall quadrangle1:24000
- 1949 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 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
- 1968 USGS Bonsall quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1982 USGS Oceanside quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
504 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 504 fires within 5 miles of Pala Mesa between 1992 and 2020, burning about 11,371 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 26 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 | 235 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 150 |
| Debris and open burning | 39 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 26 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 19 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 16 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 10 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Firearms and explosives use | 1 |
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 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Diego Unit | GIRD RD / PALA RD 3 |
| 8 September 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Diego Unit | MISSION |
| 8 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Diego Unit | FREEWAY |
| 8 September 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Diego Unit | BRIDGE |
| 7 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | ALTA |
| 7 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7.0 acres | San Diego Unit | CASTER |
| 4 September 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | San Diego Unit | SYCAMORE DR / GREEN CANYO |
| 4 September 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Diego Unit | OLD 4 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 16 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of Pala Mesa: 9 past producers, 4 occurrences, 2 prospects, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gemstone, Lead, Silver, Zinc. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown Trucking Dg Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Clark Prospect | Manganese | Prospect | 1918 | |
| Hughes Acreage | Lead, Silver, Zinc | Prospect | ||
| Pala Chief Mine | Vanadium, Lead, Copper, Zinc | Occurrence | ||
| Freeman Mine | Gemstone | Occurrence | ||
| Mountain Belle Claim | Gemstone | Occurrence | ||
| Vista Chief | Gemstone | Occurrence | ||
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Borrow Pits | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Faubus Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Rey Heights | 2.6 miles | 31 | |
| Winterwarm | 3.2 miles | 31 | |
| Bonsall | 4.4 miles | 31 | |
| Pala | 5.1 miles | 32 | |
| Lilac | 5.2 miles | 32 | |
| Ridgecrest Estates | 5.3 miles | 30 | |
| Rainbow | 5.5 miles | 30 | |
| Fallbrook | 5.5 miles | 36 |
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 Pala Mesa | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q65044469 | The 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 1661175. 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.












