BlockBefore

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.

Prather within Fresno County

Then and now

1912 to 2004

The 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 sheet of Prather, surveyed 2004
Topographic sheet of Prather, surveyed 1912

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 29 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

303 since 1992

Regional 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 use105
Missing data/not specified/undetermined71
Arson/incendiarism51
Debris and open burning33
Natural12
Power generation/transmission/distribution12
Misuse of fire by a minor11
Smoking5
Recreation and ceremony2
Other causes1

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 1995Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitGOOSEBERRY
8 September 2005Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreFresno-Kings UnitCARBON
8 September 2002Debris and open burningunder an acreFresno-Kings UnitWARD
7 September 1994Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitPG&E #34
4 September 2016Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionMISSION
30 September 2009Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreFresno-Kings UnitJOSE BASIN RD / AUBERRY R
30 September 2001Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresFresno-Kings UnitSTELZER
30 September 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral California DistrictBUGGY WHIP

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Fresno County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 21 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
OversightGold, SilverPast Producer
Reported DepositsChromiumOccurrence
W H ChildersFeldsparProducer
Big OakTungstenOccurrenceScheelite
Big OakTungstenProducer
Big OakTungstenProspect
GilroyGoldOccurrence
Herron MineGoldUnknown
Hidden Treasure MineGoldUnknown
Inyo MineGoldUnknown

Every working recorded in Fresno County

Storms near this place

4 since 2006

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2024FloodPrather-California Highway Patrol reported a tree blocking both lanes of Auberry Rd. near the intersection of Spearhead Rd.
January 2017FloodPrather-California Highway Patrol reported rocks and boulders blocking part of southbound lane on Highway 168 near Tollhouse south of Prather.
December 2016FloodPrather-California Highway Patrol reported large rocks in roadway south of Prather on Highway 168 near Gooseberry Lane.
January 2006HailPrather-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Fresno 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
Marshall Junction3.3 miles29
Auberry3.4 miles26
New Auberry4.0 miles26
Sentinel (historical)5.2 miles26
Meadow Lakes5.3 miles26
Tollhouse6.2 miles26
Alder Springs6.3 miles26
McKenzie Spring (historical)6.5 miles21

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 PratherAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7238652The 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.