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Porterville, California

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1929 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Porterville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93257. It lies near Murry Hill. The Survey maps it on the Porterville quadrangle. 62,623 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 459 feet above sea level.

Porterville within Tulare County

Then and now

1929 to 1993

The same ground, surveyed 64 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Porterville, surveyed 1993
Topographic sheet of Porterville, surveyed 1929

On record in Porterville

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 3 records

Population over time

4 figures

Porterville grew from 202 to 62,623 between 1880 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
1880202
19102,696
201054,165
202062,623+8,458 (+16%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 23 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

739 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 739 fires within 5 miles of Porterville between 1992 and 2020, burning about 6,076 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 343 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
Arson/incendiarism343
Missing data/not specified/undetermined200
Equipment and vehicle use90
Misuse of fire by a minor58
Smoking23
Debris and open burning14
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Recreation and ceremony4
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Firearms and explosives use1
Natural1

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 1993Arson/incendiarismunder an acreTulare UnitHAVERT
9 September 1992Arson/incendiarismunder an acreTulare UnitRIVERBOTTOM #22
8 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreTulare UnitPETTIS
6 September 2005Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreTulare UnitHARBISON
6 September 2004Arson/incendiarismunder an acreTulare UnitTULE #26
6 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTulare UnitLIME
6 September 1993Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresTulare UnitORDUNO
5 September 1993Debris and open burning3.0 acresTulare UnitSINER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Tulare County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 24 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 24 workings within 5 miles of Porterville: 15 past producers, 3 producers, 3 occurrences, 2 prospects. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Magnesite, Chromium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Iridium, Palladium, Platinum. 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
Deer Creek SilverCopper, Gold, SilverPast Producer
Frazier Valley Borrow PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
HoldridgeLimestone, GeneralPast Producer
Holston Chromite DepositIron, ChromiumPast Producer1895
Holston MineChromium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Iridium, Palladium, PlatinumPast Producer1895, 1918
Middletons Sequoia Rock Co.Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silver, GoldPast Producer
Porterville White Granite QuarryGranitePast Producer1915
Prospect Near Holston ChromeChromium, Platinum, Ruthenium, Rhodium, Iridium, PalladiumOccurrenceChromite
Unnamed LocationGemstoneOccurrence
Valencia HeightsClayOccurrence

Every working recorded in Tulare County

Storms near this place

27 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Porterville in 27 storm reports between 1995 and 2021: 5 hail, 5 heavy rain, 5 wildfire, 4 thunderstorm wind. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
February 2014Thunderstorm WindPorterville$2,000,000Trees down across Porterville. Damages reported to several houses due to fallen trees and limbs.
September 2003WildfirePorterville$460,560The Michael Fire had an unknown ignition near Chimney Peak in southeast Tulare County. It consumed 388 acres at a cost of $460K. No fatalities occurred nor were structures lost.
May 1995Tornado (F0)Porterville$200,000Eyewitness reports and subsequent interviews confirm a small F0 Tornado struck the Porterville Airport at noon. Two general aviation aircraft were destroyed, minor roof damage occurred to the airport administration buildings, fences were downed, and some minor farm structures were destroyed one-half mile east of the airport. One aircraft was tied down but was lifted from its tiedown chains. The tornado was seen one mile southwest of the field and moved northeast through the center of the airport. Heavy rain occurred on the airfield following the event.
October 2003WildfirePorterville$150,000The Albanita/Hooker Fire in the Sequoia National Forest was lightning ignited on September 3rd and then allowed to burn for resource management benefits. It consumed 4,483 acres by the end of October at an estimated cost of $150K. No injuries or fatalities were reported nor were any structures lost.
October 2007Thunderstorm WindPorterville$30,000Local police in Tulare reported trees and powerlines downed.
May 2009Thunderstorm WindPorterville$12,000Law enforcement in Porterville reported a roof blown off a barn due to outflow winds from a severe thunderstorm.
March 1998Thunderstorm WindPorterville$5,000Thunderstorm wind (estimated at more than 37Kts) brought down powerlines and damaged the roof of an elementary school in Porterville late in the afternoon.
May 2003Heavy RainPorterville$2,000One of many thunderstorms on this day throughout the Central and South San Joaquin Valley resulted in an estimated rainfall rate of 2"/hour near Porterville in the SE San Joaquin Valley. Spotters and police reported street flooding from the downpour with two homes damaged due to the excessive water.
August 2003LightningPorterville$1,000no account filed
August 2003LightningPorterville$1,000no account filed
December 2021Debris FlowPorterville-California Highway Patrol reported mud, rock and dirt covering most of North Plano St. near Lynch Dr.
November 2003WildfirePorterville-The Albanita/Hooker Fire was ignited September 3rd by lightning and allowed to burn as resource management burn until closed on the 8th of November. Its total cost was $150K and it consumed 4483 acres in the Sequoia National Forest.
September 2003WildfirePorterville-The Albanita/Hooker Fire in Sequoia National Forest was lightning ignited on the 3rd. It burned 175 acres by the 30th as it was allowed to burn for resource benefits. No injuries were reported nor was any structure lost.
April 1999HailPorterville-Hail damage to young vines, stone fruit, and deciduous crops. From the Tulare County Ag Commissioner some damage was reported in the vicinity of Porterville.
February 1998Funnel CloudPorterville-Spotter observed funnel to the WNW of Porterville High School. Classic 'V' shape about 1/3 of the way toward the ground. No damage occurred in the area.
January 2016HailPorterville-no account filed
March 2006Heavy RainPorterville-no account filed
March 2006Heavy RainPorterville-no account filed
March 2006HailPorterville-no account filed
April 2006HailPorterville-no account filed
April 2006LightningPorterville-no account filed
April 2005Heavy RainPorterville-no account filed
August 2003LightningPorterville-no account filed
December 2002Heavy RainPorterville-no account filed
July 2002WildfirePorterville-no account filed
January 1997HailPorterville-no account filed
January 1997Funnel CloudPorterville-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Tulare 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
Roche0.6 miles23
Plano1.6 miles23
Ponca1.6 miles23
Monache (historical)2.2 miles23
East Porterville2.2 miles27
Westfield2.3 miles23
Lumer2.3 miles27
Lisko2.4 miles23

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 PortervilleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q927173The 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 1652779. 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.