BlockSeeley, California
20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1989. It stands in the El Centro census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92273. It stands on Bullhead Slough. The Survey maps it on the Seeley quadrangle. 1,729 people lived here at the 2020 count. It lies 36 feet below sea level.
Then and now
1915 to 1989The same ground, surveyed 74 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
Population over time
2 figuresSeeley fell from 1,739 to 1,729 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 | 1,739 | |
| 2020 | 1,729 | -10 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 20 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 El Centro quadrangle1:125000
- 1940 USGS Brawley quadrangle1:62500
- 1942 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1943 USGS Brawley quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Brawley quadrangle1:62500
- 1957 USGS Seeley quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1958 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1989 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
6 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Seeley between 1993 and 2018, burning about 146 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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 | 6 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 June 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 acres | San Diego Unit | not named |
| 24 June 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Joshua Tree National Monument | IMPERIAL |
| 28 May 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | San Diego Unit | not named |
| 24 March 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 20 December 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 acres | California Desert District | DIXIELAND |
| 18 October 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | California Desert District | CENTINELA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
10 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Seeley in 10 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 8 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seeley | $250,000 | Scattered thunderstorms developed across the western portion of the Imperial Valley during the afternoon hours on August 3rd and some of the stronger storms produced gusty and damaging outflow winds. According to a local emergency manager, at 1500PST gusty winds estimated to be as high as 60 mph downed about 40 power poles in the vicinity of the intersection of Drew and Diehl Roads. The power poles were downed about 3 miles southwest of Seeley and south of Interstate 8 and they covered about one and one half mile of roadway. |
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seeley | $30,000 | Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours across the western portions of the Imperial Valley and some of the stronger storms produced gusty and damaging outflow winds near the town of Seeley. According to the California Highway Patrol, at 1432PST gusty winds estimated to be at least 60 mph in strength blew down a number of power poles into the road near the intersection of Kramar and Drew Roads, to the south of Seeley and just south of Interstate 8. In addition, power lines were reported to be downed and lying in the road along with the power poles. No injuries were reported as a result of the downed power poles. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seeley | $10,000 | Sunbeam Rest Area located on the eastbound side of I-8 west of El Centro was closed due to damage. Wind gusts were estimated at 55-60 mph. Timing estimated from radar. No injuries were reported. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seeley | $2,000 | Downed power lines along West Evan Hewes Highway near Silsbee Road. Winds were estimated at 55-60 mph. Timing estimated from radar. No injuries were reported. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seeley | $2,000 | Downed power poles along Harrigan Road near Graham Road. Wind gusts were estimated at 55-60 mph. Timing estimated from radar. No injuries were reported. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seeley | $2,000 | Downed power poles along Graham Road near Drew Road. Wind gusts were estimated at 55-60 mph. Timing estimated from radar. No injuries were reported. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seeley | $2,000 | Tropical moisture spread north and into Imperial County during the day on September 30; the moisture moved in ahead of Hurricane Rosa and led to the development of isolated thunderstorms. Some of the stronger storms produced gusty and damaging outflow winds in the community of Seeley, to the west of the Imperial Valley. According to a trained weather spotter, at 1613PST outflow winds estimated to be as high as 60 mph damaged a number of trees in Seeley. The winds blew down several branches with diameters of at least 4 inches and some branches landed in the road. |
| July 2012 | Flash Flood | Seeley | - | A weather disturbance moving into a very moist and unstable atmosphere led to numerous showers and thunderstorms across Imperial county during the afternoon and evening hours on July 13th. Radar indicated that between one and two inches of rain fell across portions of southwest Imperial county from 215 to 315 pm and a flash flood warning was issued for areas including the communities of Seeley and Plaster City. According to California Emergency Managers, at 6 pm there was a water rescue of an irrigation district employee at the intersection of Drew Road and the railroad tracks approximately one mile west of the town of Seeley. |
| September 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Seeley | - | A tornado touched down near the Forester Exit of Interstate 8 and skipped along to the northwest for approximately 1.5 miles. In its path, 16 power poles were destroyed, with some having been snapped or pulled from the ground, large trees were knocked down, outhouses were blown down, and tarps were lifted from hay stacks. |
| September 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seeley | - | Power poles were knocked down. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edgar | 2.3 miles | 20 | |
| Dixieland | 4.2 miles | 20 | |
| Wilsie | 4.7 miles | 21 | |
| El Centro | 6.8 miles | 21 | |
| Imperial | 7.5 miles | 21 | |
| Mount Signal | 8.4 miles | 20 | |
| Plaster City | 8.9 miles | 20 | |
| Heber | 9.6 miles | 19 |
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 Seeley | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2695873 | 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 1661418. 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.
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.