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.
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:
Population over time
2 figuresPhelan 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 14,304 | |
| 2020 | 13,859 | -445 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
13 surveys from 34 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 Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1903 USGS San Antonio quadrangle1:62500, 7 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1942 USGS San Antonio quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1953 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Phelan quadrangle1:24000, 6 printings
- 1956 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1966 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS San Bernardino quadrangle1:100000
- 1996 USGS Phelan quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
634 since 1992Regional 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/undetermined | 231 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 121 |
| Debris and open burning | 77 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 60 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 45 |
| Natural | 40 |
| Smoking | 33 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 13 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 10 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Fireworks | 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 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | HESS |
| 8 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | VALLE VISTA RD PHELAN |
| 8 September 2012 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | San Bernardino Unit | HWY 138 / SHEEP CREEK RD |
| 8 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Bernardino Unit | HIGHWAY |
| 6 September 2005 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | San Bernardino Unit | SMOKETREE |
| 6 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Angeles National Forest | PIPELINE |
| 4 September 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Bernardino Unit | JOSHUA LN / PHELAN RD |
| 4 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Bernardino Unit | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheep Creek Deposits | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Wrightwood Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
25 since 1997Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1999 | Wildfire | Phelan | 2 hurt, $500,000 | A 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 2000 | Flash Flood | Phelan | $70,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Flood | Phelan | $40,000 | Streets, 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 2003 | Lightning | Phelan | $20,000 | no account filed |
| February 2017 | Flood | Phelan | $15,000 | A jeep was submerged in a large sink hole at the intersection of Cedar St. and Chateau Rd. No water rescues required. |
| January 2005 | Flash Flood | Phelan | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Wildfire | Phelan | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Flash Flood | Phelan | $5,000 | Between 8 and 12 inches of water and mud reported rushing over Balde Mesa Rd. |
| December 2025 | Flood | Phelan | - | 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 2023 | Flood | Phelan | - | Flooding reported at Amarillo and Buckwheat Road, with rain of 0.50 inch reported. |
| September 2023 | Flood | Phelan | - | Report of water flowing down Duncan Road and Sheep Creek Road, covering the westbound lanes in these areas. |
| December 2019 | Flash Flood | Phelan | - | Highway 138 eastbound near Phelan flooded and was closed down. Tractor trailers were stalled out in the flood waters. |
| March 2018 | Flood | Phelan | - | Flooding lead to a closure of Bear Valley Road at the intersection with Sheep Creek Road. |
| January 2017 | Flash Flood | Phelan | - | 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 2015 | Flood | Phelan | - | 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 2007 | Flash Flood | Phelan | - | Upwards of 6 inches of mud and water was reported flowing over Wilson and Phelan Roads. |
| August 2005 | Heavy Rain | Phelan | - | A strong thunderstorm dropped 2.17 inches of rain in 46 minutes at the Phelan alert gage. |
| August 2004 | Hail | Phelan | - | A tornadic thunderstorm over Phelan dropped nickel size hail. There were no reports of damage. |
| August 2004 | Tornado (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 2004 | Heavy Rain | Phelan | - | no account filed |
| September 2003 | Heavy Rain | Phelan | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Wildfire | Phelan | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Funnel Cloud | Phelan | - | no account filed |
| November 1998 | Flood | Phelan | - | no account filed |
| September 1997 | Flood | Phelan | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yucca Inn | 1.5 miles | 34 | |
| Deer Haven | 1.8 miles | 34 | |
| Mountain Top Junction | 2.5 miles | 34 | |
| Wildhorse Canyon | 3.3 miles | 38 | |
| Piñon Hills | 4.0 miles | 37 | |
| Pinon Hills Estates | 4.5 miles | 37 | |
| Wrightwood | 5.5 miles | 39 | |
| Baldy Mesa | 6.8 miles | 32 |
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 Phelan | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q3470873 | 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 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.












