Prunedale, California
25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Castroville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93907. It lies near Pesante Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Prunedale quadrangle. 18,885 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 92 feet above sea level.
Research this city
Then and now
1915 to 1983The same ground, surveyed 68 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1915 against another survey:
Population over time
2 figuresPrunedale grew from 17,560 to 18,885 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 | 17,560 | |
| 2020 | 18,885 | +1,325 (+8%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 25 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.
- 1915 USGS San Juan Bautista quadrangle1:48000
- 1917 USGS San Juan Bautista quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1939 USGS San Juan Bautista quadrangle1:62500
- 1940 USGS San Juan Bautista quadrangle1:62500
- 1948 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Prunedale quadrangle1:24000, 6 printings
- 1955 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
356 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 356 fires within 5 miles of Prunedale between 1992 and 2020, burning about 620 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 30 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 | 140 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 108 |
| Debris and open burning | 36 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 30 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 20 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 6 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5 |
| Other causes | 3 |
| Natural | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | SHERRY |
| 7 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 7 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | SAN JUAN GRADE RD / CRAZY |
| 7 September 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | MELUGAN |
| 4 September 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | VIERRA CANYON RD NORTH_C |
| 4 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | CABEU003585 |
| 4 September 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | PG&E #21 |
| 30 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | CABEU003693 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 17 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 17 workings within 5 miles of Prunedale: 8 past producers, 4 prospects, 2 plants, 2 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Dolomite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arca Roofing Tile Plant | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Bethlehem Steel Co | Dolomite | Past Producer | ||
| Natividad Calcining Plant | Magnesite | Plant | ||
| Natividad Quarry & Mill | Magnesite, Limestone, General | Plant | 1940, 1942 | |
| Sugarloaf Deposit | Limestone, General, Dolomite | Occurrence | ||
| Echo Valley | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Augustini | Stone | Producer | ||
| Echo Valley | Stone | Producer |
Storms near this place
16 since 2014Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Prunedale in 16 storm reports between 2014 and 2024: 11 flood, 3 debris flow, 1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | Flood | Prunedale | $10 | Roadway flooding was reported at US Highway 101 Southbound at Pesante Road. The drain was not flowing properly because of nearby construction. |
| March 2024 | Flood | Prunedale | - | Roadway flooding was reported on westbound Blackie Road west of US Highway 101. |
| March 2024 | Flash Flood | Prunedale | - | Flash flooding reported around 2:40 pm at Ralph Lane in Northern Monterey County. Water is reported to be up to the window sills of homes along Ralph Lane. A temporary evacuation point has been set up at the Prunedale Library and half a dozen rescues and submerged cars have been reported. |
| March 2024 | Flood | Prunedale | - | Half a foot of water covering the number 1 lane of US Highway 101. |
| March 2024 | Flood | Prunedale | - | Southbound US Highway 101 was flooded just north of Blackie Road. The fast lane was reported flooded due to a clogged drain, and half a foot of water was reported on the road. |
| March 2024 | Flood | Prunedale | - | Vehicle stuck in floodwaters near Ralph Lane and northbound US Highway 101. |
| January 2024 | Flood | Prunedale | - | Three inches of water were reported between both lanes of the southbound US Highway 101/westbound California Highway 156 transition. |
| March 2024 | Heavy Rain | Prunedale | - | Around one inch of rain fell in the area. Vehicles pulled over on the shoulder and center medians of Northbound US 101 at Ralph Lane due to heavy rainfall reducing visibility. |
| December 2019 | Flood | Prunedale | - | Flooding in the slow lane of 101 at the intersection of 156. |
| December 2019 | Flood | Prunedale | - | Blackie Rd between hwy 183 and Borromeo Dr flooding. |
| February 2017 | Debris Flow | Prunedale | - | Mud/dirt/rocks across Crazy Horse Cyn Rd at Wild Horse Rd. |
| February 2017 | Debris Flow | Prunedale | - | Mud, dirt, and trees in slow lane HWY101 at Crazy Horse Canyon Rd. |
| February 2017 | Debris Flow | Prunedale | - | Heavy mud slide about 3 feet deep blocking one lane near 18222 Moro Rd. |
| February 2017 | Flood | Prunedale | - | Roadway completely flooded Cross Rd/Reese Cir. |
| February 2017 | Flood | Prunedale | - | Roadway flooded Pesante Rd/Holly Hill Dr. |
| December 2014 | Flood | Prunedale | - | Roadway flooding reported from intersection of Meridian Road and Archer Road. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Hills | 2.5 miles | 25 | |
| Gabilan Acres | 3.0 miles | 25 | |
| Bolsa Knolls | 3.3 miles | 27 | |
| Santa Rita | 3.7 miles | 27 | |
| Castroville | 4.7 miles | 26 | |
| Natividad | 4.9 miles | 27 | |
| Cooper | 4.9 miles | 27 | |
| Elkhorn | 5.0 miles | 25 |
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 Prunedale | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q3296010 | 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 277580. 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.











