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Sugarloaf, California

34 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Big Bear census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92386. It lies near Sawmill Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Moonridge quadrangle. It stands 7,096 feet above sea level.

Sugarloaf within San Bernardino County

Then and now

1901 to 1996

The same ground, surveyed 95 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Sugarloaf, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Sugarloaf, surveyed 1901

Compare 1901 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 34 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

490 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 490 fires within 5 miles of Sugarloaf between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,665 acres in total. 133 started naturally. 15 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/undetermined206
Natural133
Recreation and ceremony52
Misuse of fire by a minor23
Equipment and vehicle use17
Arson/incendiarism15
Smoking14
Debris and open burning12
Other causes10
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Fireworks4

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 2015Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestVANDUSEN
8 September 2013Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestRANGER
8 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestMAPLE
8 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestSAND
7 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSan Bernardino National ForestFLAT
7 September 1995Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National Forestnot named
6 September 2013Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestSUGARLOAF 2
6 September 2013Naturalunder an acreSan Bernardino National ForestBERTHA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Bernardino County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 46 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 46 workings within 5 miles of Sugarloaf: 20 past producers, 12 occurrences, 7 prospects, 6 unknowns. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Uranium, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Graphite. 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
Bertha PeakGold, CopperPast ProducerGold
Carbonate MineLead, Silver, ZincPast Producer
Gail ClaimGold, Platinum, Limestone, DimensionUnknown
Gold HillGold, Silver, Lead, CopperPast ProducerSurface/Underground
Gold Hill MineGold, Silver, Copper, LeadPast Producer
H. L. Brown Desert View ClaimsBerylliumProspect
HilltopGold, Copper, LeadPast Producer
Red JacketLead, Copper, Gold, SilverOccurrence
Scotty WilsonSilver, Zinc, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Scotty Wilson MineZinc, Lead, SilverPast Producer

Every working recorded in San Bernardino County

Storms near this place

15 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sugarloaf in 15 storm reports between 1999 and 2026: 6 heavy rain, 3 flood, 3 flash flood, 1 dust devil. 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
February 2019Flash FloodSugarloaf$100,000Flash flooding in Big Bear City with up to 1 foot of moving water and 2 feet of standing water in the city streets. Water flows in to Lucerne Valley produced a large standing lake near Highway 18. Big Bear City received up 6 inches of rain in 24 hours.
July 1999FloodSugarloaf$20,000Thunderstorms during the morning hours washed rocks and mud across Highway 38 and the road leading to Mount Baldy.
May 2003Dust DevilSugarloaf$15,000no account filed
May 2024LightningSugarloaf$10,000Earth Networks detected several dozen lightning strikes across the High Desert west of Victorville and across the San Bernardino mountains including Big Bear city and affect SR 38 and 18.
February 2026Thunderstorm WindSugarloaf-County fire reports tree fell and collapsed a roof in the Woodlands Neighborhood in Big Bear City. Wind estimates in the area near 50-55 mph.
January 2023FloodSugarloaf-Arrowbear Bridge submerged due to flood waters.
August 2023Flash FloodSugarloaf-Portions of State Highway 38 near the Heart Bar Campground were washed out.
September 2023Heavy RainSugarloaf-Heavy rain fell across the San Bernardino County Mountains on September 1st, runoff from which contributed to some flooding near the Phelan area. Totals were largely in the 0.25-1.00 range, but some localized higher totals fell at Middle Fork Lytle Creek (MFLC1) where 1.56 of rain fell, with roughly 1.50 of rain falling in Wrightwood.
August 2022Flash FloodSugarloaf-Roadway flooding near 1509 Shay Rd in Big Bear City. North and south side of Shay Road was flooded. Storm survey by WCM showed several inches of water still flowing over Shay Road. Radar estimated 2 to 3 inches of rain in less than 3 hours. Water flowed around numerous homes, flowing into Baldwin Lake. Nearby Big Bear Yard reported 1.80 inches.
August 2022Heavy RainSugarloaf-Mesonet station EW3043 Big Bear City measured 1 inch of rain in 90 minutes.
August 2022Heavy RainSugarloaf-Rainfall of 0.61 inches was measured between 12:45 PM and 2 PM.
July 2022FloodSugarloaf-Drainage ditch overflowing with flooding on both sides of Highway 38 near Mitchell Lane.
July 2021Heavy RainSugarloaf-Big Bear City reports 0.45 inches of rain in approximately one half hour from monsoon thunderstorm.
July 2021Heavy RainSugarloaf-Heavy rain from monsoonal thunderstorms with 1.60 inches of rain measured at Big Bear City Station, 0.29 inches of which fell in 5 minutes from 6:10 PM until 6:15 PM.
August 2010Heavy RainSugarloaf-The Big Bear City South Mesonet site reported 1.02 inches of rain fell between 1045 and 1145 PST on August 25th. The storm total for that site was 1.54 inches, which fell between 0945 and 1245 PST.

Every storm recorded in San Bernardino 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
Woodlands1.5 miles34
Big Bear City1.5 miles39
Moonridge1.5 miles34
Baldwin Lake3.0 miles39
Minnelusa3.7 miles35
Doble3.8 miles39
Big Bear Lake4.4 miles36
The Pines (historical)5.7 miles36

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 SugarloafAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7635000The 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 273936. 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.