Spruce, California
36 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 2000. It stands in the Colfax-Monumental Ridge census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95728. The Survey maps it on the Soda Springs quadrangle. It stands 6,558 feet above sea level. The federal gazetteer marks this settlement historical: it is no longer a populated place, though the surveys that recorded it still are.
Then and now
1891 to 2000The same ground, surveyed 109 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1891 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 36 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.
- 1891 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:125000
- 1895 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1932 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:96000
- 1940 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Donner Pass quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Soda Springs quadrangle1:24000, 8 printings
- 1958 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000
- 1977 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 2000 USGS Soda Springs quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
142 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 142 fires within 5 miles of Spruce (historical) between 1992 and 2020, burning about 268 acres in total. 63 started naturally. 3 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 63 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 30 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 28 |
| Debris and open burning | 10 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Fireworks | 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 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 acres | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | SKI AREA BOREAL TRUCKEE_F |
| 8 September 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | WB I80 AND SODA SPRINGS T |
| 7 September 2017 | Natural | under an acre | Tahoe National Forest | LONG |
| 6 September 2017 | Natural | under an acre | Tahoe National Forest | NANCY FIRE |
| 5 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | BOREAL |
| 3 September 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Tahoe National Forest | HAMPSHIRE |
| 28 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | SODA |
| 27 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Tahoe National Forest | EIGHTY |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 13 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Spruce (historical): 7 occurrences, 4 past producers, 1 producer, 1 unknown. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Uranium. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Rock Lodes | Uranium | Occurrence | ||
| Belcher | Gold | Occurrence | ||
| Belcher | Gold | Occurrence | ||
| Belcher Qtz | Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Bella Qtz | Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Bonnie Bell | Gold | Past Producer | Gold | |
| Gold Run | Gold | Occurrence | ||
| Johanna Qtz. | Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Meadow Lake | Gold | Producer | ||
| Meadow Lake | Gold | Unknown |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Troy | 1.8 miles | 36 | |
| Tamarack (historical) | 3.4 miles | 36 | |
| Rainbow | 4.3 miles | 37 | |
| Big Bend | 4.8 miles | 37 | |
| Donner | 5.1 miles | 33 | |
| The Cedars | 5.9 miles | 33 | |
| Cisco Grove | 5.9 miles | 37 | |
| Cisco | 6.3 miles | 37 |
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 Q7581380 | 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 1701095. 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.










