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South Fork, California

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1904 and the latest in 2004. It stands in the Oakhurst-North Fork census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93643. It stands on Pitcher Creek. The Survey maps it on the Cascadel Point quadrangle. It stands 2,651 feet above sea level.

South Fork within Madera County

Then and now

1904 to 2004

The same ground, surveyed 100 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of South Fork, surveyed 2004
Topographic sheet of South Fork, surveyed 1904

Compare 1904 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 27 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

308 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 308 fires within 5 miles of South Fork between 1992 and 2020, burning about 12,707 acres in total. 24 started naturally. 23 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/undetermined107
Debris and open burning58
Equipment and vehicle use46
Natural24
Arson/incendiarism23
Misuse of fire by a minor14
Recreation and ceremony14
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Smoking10
Other causes1
Fireworks1

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 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSierra National ForestPECKINPAH
8 September 2008Smoking1.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitRD 221 / PIUTE RD
7 September 2010Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSierra National ForestFORK
7 September 2009Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitRD 200 / WYLE RANCH RD
7 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitKOWANA LN NORTH_FORK
6 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.8 acresMerced-Mariposa Unit200
6 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined17 acresSierra National ForestCORRINE
6 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitMOUNTAIN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Madera County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of South Fork: 2 prospects, 2 unknowns, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Tungsten, Manganese, Gold. 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
Telles & Morton MineGoldProspect
Thornberry DepositManganeseOccurrenceResidual
EllisTungstenUnknown
Hughes ClaimTungstenProspect
Pine Grove MineTungstenUnknown

Every working recorded in Madera County

Storms near this place

3 since 2020

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names South Fork in 3 storm reports between 2020 and 2023: 1 funnel cloud, 1 flash flood, 1 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
January 2023Flash FloodSouth Fork-A Fresno television station reported an evacuation order was issued by Madera County for flash flooding in the Bass Lake and North Fork areas, including the Bass Lake Mobile Home Park in North Fork.
March 2023FloodSouth Fork-California Highway Patrol reported Redinger Lane was washed out.
May 2020Funnel CloudSouth Fork-Public observation of a funnel cloud near North Fork.

Every storm recorded in Madera 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
North Fork0.8 miles26
Cascadel Woods2.1 miles27
Bass Lake Annex3.5 miles24
Whisky Falls4.8 miles24
The Pines6.8 miles24
Fine Gold7.2 miles26
Bass Lake7.5 miles24
Central Camp8.2 miles24

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 South ForkAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7567256The 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 1656321. 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.