BlockBefore

Rainbow, California

30 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Fallbrook census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92028. It lies in Rainbow Valley. The Survey maps it on the Temecula quadrangle. 1,884 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,043 feet above sea level.

Rainbow within San Diego County

Then and now

1901 to 1982

The same ground, surveyed 81 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Rainbow, surveyed 1982
Topographic sheet of Rainbow, surveyed 1901

Compare 1901 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Rainbow grew from 1,832 to 1,884 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,832
20201,884+52 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 30 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

500 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 500 fires within 5 miles of Rainbow between 1992 and 2020, burning about 22,168 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 36 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/undetermined225
Equipment and vehicle use138
Debris and open burning37
Arson/incendiarism36
Misuse of fire by a minor26
Recreation and ceremony15
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Smoking10
Firearms and explosives use1
Railroad operations and maintenance1
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
8 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Diego UnitMISSION
8 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Diego UnitFREEWAY
8 September 2005Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreRiverside UnitLOCAL FIRE
5 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Diego UnitRAINBOW
5 September 1992Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSan Diego UnitRAINBOW VALLEY
4 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictLOCAL
30 September 2020Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreSan Diego UnitFIRE ALARM - RES
30 September 2007Smokingunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 2757

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Diego County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 20 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 20 workings within 5 miles of Rainbow: 8 producers, 5 occurrences, 4 past producers, 3 prospects. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Gemstone, Manganese, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Lead. 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
Hughes AcreageLead, Silver, ZincProspect
Pala DistrictNiobium (Columbium), Gemstone, Tantalum, Beryllium, LithiumProducerPEGMATITE
Parkwest Industrial Center PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Stewart PegmatiteNiobium (Columbium), Tantalum, LithiumProducerLepidolite, Microlite
Temecula QuarryStone, DimensionPast Producer
Temecula QuarryGranitePast Producer
Tourmaline King PegmatiteTantalum, Lithium, GemstoneProducerMicrolite, Tourmaline
Vanderburg - Katerina PegmatiteNiobium (Columbium), Tantalum, Lithium, GemstoneProducerBeryl, Lepidolite, Spodumene
Pala PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Weir PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in San Diego County

Storms near this place

10 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rainbow in 10 storm reports between 2005 and 2025: 5 flood, 2 flash flood, 1 tornado, 1 lightning. The reports record 2 deaths. 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
January 2017Flash FloodRainbow2 killed, $10,000A swift water rescue team pulled a man from a submerged car in a small creek near Old Highway 395 and 5th St. in Rainbow. A young boy, also in the car, was swept down stream before rescuers arrived. The boys body was recovered on the 26th.
February 2005Tornado (F0)Rainbow$25,000no account filed
January 2017Flash FloodRainbow$10,000Widespread flooding occurred near Gilman Springs Rd. and Soboba Rd. in San Jacinto with multiple water rescues conducted.
October 2016LightningRainbow$1,500Lightning struck a tree which caught on fire.
February 2025FloodRainbow-Received a report of a flooded roadway.
January 2023FloodRainbow-Heavy rain occurred across northern San Diego County on January 15-16, resulting in flooding near Rainbow. County officials announced the closure of Pala Mission Road near Highway 76, and Pala Temecula Road. Rainfall of 1 to 1.5 inch had been reported leading up to the flooding.
January 2023FloodRainbow-Heavy rain resulted in the flooding of Huffstatler Creek flowing over Huffstatler Road at 2nd St and 5th St; roads were closed due to flooding.
March 2023FloodRainbow-In the Rainbow area, Huffstatler St was closed from 5th St to 2nd St due to flooding. About 0.50-0.70 inch of rain fell in the 12 hours prior.
March 2023FloodRainbow-Flooding occurred early in the morning on March 15 following very heavy rainfall over the previous 24 hours, with precipitation amounts of 2.5-3.5 inches. Huffstalter St between 5th and 2nd St was closed due to flooding, as well as Pala Temecula Road.
March 2023Debris FlowRainbow-The Department of Highways reported a rockslide on the southbound lanes of SR-76 early in the morning on March 15. Rainfall of 2.50-3.50 inches occurred with the event.

Every storm recorded in San Diego 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
Ridgecrest Estates3.2 miles30
Pala4.9 miles32
Pala Mesa5.5 miles31
Fallbrook6.0 miles36
Winterwarm6.2 miles31
De Luz Heights7.0 miles36
San Luis Rey Heights7.1 miles31
DeLuz7.4 miles35

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 RainbowAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q595723The 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 1652780. 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.