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Phelan, California

34 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Victorville-Hesperia census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92371. It lies near Horse Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Phelan quadrangle. 13,859 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,993 feet above sea level.

Phelan within San Bernardino County

Then and now

1901 to 1996

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Phelan, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Phelan, surveyed 1901

Compare 1901 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Phelan fell from 14,304 to 13,859 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
201014,304
202013,859-445 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 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

634 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 634 fires within 5 miles of Phelan between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,902 acres in total. 40 started naturally. 45 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/undetermined231
Equipment and vehicle use121
Debris and open burning77
Misuse of fire by a minor60
Arson/incendiarism45
Natural40
Smoking33
Recreation and ceremony13
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Other causes2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
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 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestHESS
8 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionVALLE VISTA RD PHELAN
8 September 2012Debris and open burningunder an acreSan Bernardino UnitHWY 138 / SHEEP CREEK RD
8 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Bernardino UnitHIGHWAY
6 September 2005Smoking1.0 acresSan Bernardino UnitSMOKETREE
6 September 1999Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAngeles National ForestPIPELINE
4 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSan Bernardino UnitJOSHUA LN / PHELAN RD
4 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Bernardino Unitnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Bernardino 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 Phelan: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, 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
Sheep Creek DepositsStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Wrightwood QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast Producer

Every working recorded in San Bernardino County

Storms near this place

25 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Phelan in 25 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 9 flood, 6 flash flood, 3 wildfire, 3 heavy rain. The reports record 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
July 1999WildfirePhelan2 hurt, $500,000A wild fire that began near Highway 138, traveled north and consumed 4035 acres due to hot dry weather and erratic 20 mph winds. Twenty eight sheep and goats were killed; 2 firefighters injured; 250 residents forced to evacuate; 2 mobile homes, a garage, a barn, 2 sheds, and several cars were destroyed. Ten air tankers, seven helicopters, and 1001 firefighters fought to bring the fire under control.
August 2000Flash FloodPhelan$70,000no account filed
July 1999FloodPhelan$40,000Streets, yards, and garage floors were flooded in parts of Phelan, Hesperia, Victorville, and Apple Valley as a thunderstorm moved northeast down the mountains and across the valley. Small hail, wind gusts to 30 mph, and a temperature drop of 25 degrees in a half hour also accompanied this thunderstorm.
September 2003LightningPhelan$20,000no account filed
February 2017FloodPhelan$15,000A jeep was submerged in a large sink hole at the intersection of Cedar St. and Chateau Rd. No water rescues required.
January 2005Flash FloodPhelan$10,000no account filed
June 2003WildfirePhelan$10,000no account filed
July 2005Flash FloodPhelan$5,000Between 8 and 12 inches of water and mud reported rushing over Balde Mesa Rd.
December 2025FloodPhelan-Car stuck in mud and flood waters at Stuveling St / Monte Vista Rd east of Wrightwood. Area has seen 1-2 inches of rain in the past 3 hours.
March 2023FloodPhelan-Flooding reported at Amarillo and Buckwheat Road, with rain of 0.50 inch reported.
September 2023FloodPhelan-Report of water flowing down Duncan Road and Sheep Creek Road, covering the westbound lanes in these areas.
December 2019Flash FloodPhelan-Highway 138 eastbound near Phelan flooded and was closed down. Tractor trailers were stalled out in the flood waters.
March 2018FloodPhelan-Flooding lead to a closure of Bear Valley Road at the intersection with Sheep Creek Road.
January 2017Flash FloodPhelan-Heavy mountain rain drained into the deserts leading to flooding along several area roadways. A closure occurred along Highway 18 west of Victorville due to flooding across all lanes.
July 2015FloodPhelan-A spotter in Phelan reported 4 inches of standing water at the intersection of Phelan Road and Johnson Road as well as ponding on other area roads. The spotter measured 0.23 inches of rain that fell in 20 minutes.
August 2007Flash FloodPhelan-Upwards of 6 inches of mud and water was reported flowing over Wilson and Phelan Roads.
August 2005Heavy RainPhelan-A strong thunderstorm dropped 2.17 inches of rain in 46 minutes at the Phelan alert gage.
August 2004HailPhelan-A tornadic thunderstorm over Phelan dropped nickel size hail. There were no reports of damage.
August 2004Tornado (F0)Phelan-Both the CDF and CHP reported a 1/2 mile wide tornado near Phelan. The tornado occurred in open fields and there were no reports of damage.
August 2004Heavy RainPhelan-no account filed
September 2003Heavy RainPhelan-no account filed
August 2003WildfirePhelan-no account filed
July 2000Funnel CloudPhelan-no account filed
November 1998FloodPhelan-no account filed
September 1997FloodPhelan-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Bernardino 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
Yucca Inn1.5 miles34
Deer Haven1.8 miles34
Mountain Top Junction2.5 miles34
Wildhorse Canyon3.3 miles38
Piñon Hills4.0 miles37
Pinon Hills Estates4.5 miles37
Wrightwood5.5 miles39
Baldy Mesa6.8 miles32

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 PhelanAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3470873The 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 272945. 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.