Spence, California
26 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Salinas census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93908. It stands on Quail Creek. The Survey maps it on the Chualar quadrangle. It stands 82 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1910 to 1983The same ground, surveyed 73 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1910 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 26 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.
- 1910 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:31680
- 1912 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1940 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Chualar quadrangle1:24000, 6 printings
- 1947 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 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
56 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 56 fires within 5 miles of Spence between 1992 and 2020, burning about 503 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 | 24 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 18 |
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | OLD STAGE |
| 9 September 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | San Benito-Monterey Unit | RIVER |
| 8 September 2004 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | CABEU004147 |
| 5 September 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | not named |
| 30 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.1 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 25 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | San Benito-Monterey Unit | SORATOS |
| 7 August 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | San Benito-Monterey Unit | OLD STAGE |
| 5 August 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | GULARTE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 14 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Spence: 6 producers, 4 past producers, 2 prospects, 2 occurrences. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bardin Prospects | Limestone, General | Prospect | Sedimentary | |
| Bardin Prospects | Limestone, General | Past Producer | ||
| Heins Lake | Clay | Occurrence | ||
| Henningsen | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Rianda | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Salinas Brickyard | Clay | Prospect | Sedimentary | |
| Bardin Estate | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | ||
| Greco Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unnamed Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Bardin Ranch | Stone | Producer |
Storms near this place
5 since 2016Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Spence in 5 storm reports between 2016 and 2024: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2024 | Flood | Spence | $10 | Northbound US Highway 101 was closed from Hartnell Road to Alisal Road due to flooding. |
| February 2024 | Flood | Spence | - | Flooding at US Highway 101 at Abbott Street. |
| January 2021 | Flood | Spence | - | Roadway flooding at US-101 N and Esperanza Rd. |
| December 2019 | Flood | Spence | - | NB Hwy 101 at Esperanza Rd, number 2 lane is completely flooded and number 1 lane will be soon. |
| January 2016 | Flood | Spence | - | Hartnell Road at US101 closed due to flooding. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chualar | 3.9 miles | 26 | |
| Spreckels | 4.3 miles | 28 | |
| Spreckels Junction | 4.6 miles | 27 | |
| Alisal | 5.3 miles | 27 | |
| Old Hilltown | 5.6 miles | 27 | |
| Springtown | 5.6 miles | 27 | |
| Gabilan (historical) | 6.0 miles | 24 | |
| Salinas | 6.5 miles | 27 |
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 Q7575940 | 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 1656326. 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.











