BlockBefore

Rucker, California

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1917 and the latest in 1978. It stands in the South Santa Clara Valley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95020. It stands on Little Llagas Creek. The Survey maps it on the Gilroy quadrangle.

Rucker within Santa Clara County

Then and now

1917 to 1978

The same ground, surveyed 61 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Rucker, surveyed 1978
Topographic sheet of Rucker, surveyed 1917

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 24 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

890 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 890 fires within 5 miles of Rucker between 1992 and 2020, burning about 13,102 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 68 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/undetermined420
Equipment and vehicle use280
Arson/incendiarism68
Smoking37
Debris and open burning31
Misuse of fire by a minor27
Power generation/transmission/distribution13
Recreation and ceremony12
Natural2

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 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
9 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
9 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSanta Clara UnitELAM
9 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresSanta Clara UnitCHILDERS
9 September 1993Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresSanta Clara UnitMASTEN #13
8 September 2011Equipment and vehicle use6.0 acresSanta Clara UnitKERN
8 September 2010Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresSanta Clara UnitSANTA TERESA BL / MILLER
8 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara UnitPIAZZA # 3

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Santa Clara County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 19 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Rucker: 10 past producers, 4 occurrences, 2 unknowns, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Chromium, Mercury. 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
Howson PitStone, DimensionUnknown
Unnamed LocationGemstoneOccurrence
Laurel Lake RanchChromiumPast Producer
Laurel Lake Ranch DepositsChromiumPast Producer1917, 1920
RiandaMercuryPast ProducerCinnabar
RiandaMercuryPast Producer
Unnamed LocationStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Unnamed LocationStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Unnamed LocationStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
BlendaSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Santa Clara County

Storms near this place

6 since 2017

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rucker in 6 storm reports between 2017 and 2021: 5 flood, 1 debris flow. 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
January 2021Debris FlowRucker-Tree, 10-12 ft, across both lanes by Redwood Retreat Rd and Watsonville Rd. Soils very saturated, heavy trees have been falling across the area.
February 2017FloodRucker-Roadway flooding Santa Teresa Blvd near Day Rd.
February 2017FloodRucker-Flooding in all roadway Masten Ave neaer Fitzgerald Ave.
February 2017FloodRucker-Roadway flooding on NB Monterey HWY at Rucker Rd 1 lane flooded.
February 2017FloodRucker-Roadway flooding on Monterey HWY at Fitzgerald Ave. Water pushed a vehicle into a gully.
February 2017FloodRucker-Fitzgerald Flooded west of Santa Teresa Rd. Santa Teresa Rd starting to flood.

Every storm recorded in Santa Clara 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
Lonoke2.1 miles24
San Martin2.3 miles24
Gilroy3.6 miles24
Tennant (historical)4.8 miles23
Old Gilroy5.1 miles29
Carnadero6.0 miles29
Morgan Hill6.2 miles22
Nema (historical)6.8 miles29

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.

Wikidata item Q7376623The 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 1659557. 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.