Prather, California
29 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 2004. It stands in the Sierra census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93651. It lies near Big Sandy Valley. The Survey maps it on the Millerton Lake East quadrangle. It stands 1,657 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1912 to 2004The same ground, surveyed 92 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 29 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.
- 1912 USGS Mariposa quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1942 USGS Millerton Lake quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1945 USGS Millerton Lake quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1947 USGS Mariposa quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Mariposa quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Mariposa quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1963 USGS Mariposa quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Millerton Lake quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Millerton Lake East quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1980 USGS Shaver Lake quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
- 2004 USGS Millerton Lake East quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
303 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 303 fires within 5 miles of Prather between 1992 and 2020, burning about 17,133 acres in total. 12 started naturally. 51 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 105 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 71 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 51 |
| Debris and open burning | 33 |
| Natural | 12 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 12 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 11 |
| Smoking | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Other causes | 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 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Fresno-Kings Unit | GOOSEBERRY |
| 8 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Fresno-Kings Unit | CARBON |
| 8 September 2002 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Fresno-Kings Unit | WARD |
| 7 September 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | Fresno-Kings Unit | PG&E #34 |
| 4 September 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | MISSION |
| 30 September 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Fresno-Kings Unit | JOSE BASIN RD / AUBERRY R |
| 30 September 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Fresno-Kings Unit | STELZER |
| 30 September 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Central California District | BUGGY WHIP |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 21 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 21 workings within 5 miles of Prather: 11 unknowns, 6 occurrences, 2 producers, 1 prospect. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Tungsten, Feldspar, Silver. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oversight | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Reported Deposits | Chromium | Occurrence | ||
| W H Childers | Feldspar | Producer | ||
| Big Oak | Tungsten | Occurrence | Scheelite | |
| Big Oak | Tungsten | Producer | ||
| Big Oak | Tungsten | Prospect | ||
| Gilroy | Gold | Occurrence | ||
| Herron Mine | Gold | Unknown | ||
| Hidden Treasure Mine | Gold | Unknown | ||
| Inyo Mine | Gold | Unknown |
Storms near this place
4 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Prather in 4 storm reports between 2006 and 2024: 3 flood, 1 hail. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | Flood | Prather | - | California Highway Patrol reported a tree blocking both lanes of Auberry Rd. near the intersection of Spearhead Rd. |
| January 2017 | Flood | Prather | - | California Highway Patrol reported rocks and boulders blocking part of southbound lane on Highway 168 near Tollhouse south of Prather. |
| December 2016 | Flood | Prather | - | California Highway Patrol reported large rocks in roadway south of Prather on Highway 168 near Gooseberry Lane. |
| January 2006 | Hail | Prather | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall Junction | 3.3 miles | 29 | |
| Auberry | 3.4 miles | 26 | |
| New Auberry | 4.0 miles | 26 | |
| Sentinel (historical) | 5.2 miles | 26 | |
| Meadow Lakes | 5.3 miles | 26 | |
| Tollhouse | 6.2 miles | 26 | |
| Alder Springs | 6.3 miles | 26 | |
| McKenzie Spring (historical) | 6.5 miles | 21 |
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 Prather | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7238652 | 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 265024. 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.










