Summerland, California
25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1944 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the Carpinteria census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93067. It lies near Ortega Hill. The Survey maps it on the Carpinteria quadrangle. 1,222 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 121 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1944 to 1995The same ground, surveyed 51 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 figuresSummerland fell from 1,448 to 1,222 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 | 1,448 | |
| 2020 | 1,222 | -226 (-16%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 25 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.
- 1944 USGS Carpinteria quadrangle1:31680
- 1949 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1952 USGS Carpinteria quadrangle1:24000, 8 printings
- 1955 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1966 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1976 USGS Carpinteria quadrangle1:24000
- 1977 USGS Carpinteria quadrangle1:24000
- 1980 USGS Carpinteria quadrangle1:24000
- 1982 USGS Santa Barbara quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
- 1995 USGS Carpinteria quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
28 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 28 fires within 5 miles of Summerland between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,983 acres in total. None 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Los Padres National Forest | CRAVENS |
| 24 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 6 August 2013 | Smoking | under an acre | Santa Barbara County Fire Department | not named |
| 9 July 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Santa Barbara County Fire Department | not named |
| 16 July 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Los Padres National Forest | TORO |
| 12 July 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Los Padres National Forest | ESPERANZA |
| 24 June 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Santa Barbara County Fire Department | not named |
| 16 June 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Summerland: 1 producer, 1 past producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Mercury, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Los Prietos | Mercury | Producer |
Storms near this place
6 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Summerland in 6 storm reports between 2008 and 2024: 3 flash flood, 2 debris flow, 1 thunderstorm wind. The reports record 21 deaths and 168 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2018 | Debris Flow | Summerland | 21 killed, 168 hurt, $617,000,000 | Intense rainfall generated a large and deadly mud and debris flow in the community of Montecito, around the burn scar of the Thomas fire. Automated rain gauges in the area indicated very intense rainfall, reaching as high as 0.54 inches in 5 minutes. The intense rainfall resulted in a mud and debris estimated to be 15 feet high. This event resulted in the confirmed deaths of 21 residents (2 missing) as well as destroying 128 residences and damaging 307 others. Highway 101 was closed for days due to the mud and debris. |
| March 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Summerland | $5,000 | A trained spotter in the foothills north of Summerland reported downed trees and powerlines due to gusty thunderstorm winds. |
| January 2023 | Flash Flood | Summerland | - | Heavy rainfall produced flash flooding which closed Highway 101 near Carpinteria. |
| December 2023 | Debris Flow | Summerland | - | Significant mud and debris flows were reported along State Route 192 near the intersection of Cima Del Mundo Road. |
| March 2018 | Flash Flood | Summerland | - | California Highway Patrol reported significant mud and debris flows near the community of Montecito. Along Bella Vista Drive, near Romero Canyon Road, a 12-14 foot wide mud and debris flow was reported. |
| January 2008 | Flash Flood | Summerland | - | California Highway Patrol reported the intersection of Hidden Valley Lane and Ladera Lane was completely flooded which resulted in road closures. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ortega | 0.7 miles | 25 | |
| Serena Park | 1.3 miles | 25 | |
| Toro Canyon | 1.6 miles | 25 | |
| Montecito | 2.2 miles | 21 | |
| Serena | 2.2 miles | 25 | |
| Sandyland | 2.9 miles | 25 | |
| Franciscan Village | 3.2 miles | 25 | |
| Old Town | 3.7 miles | 25 |
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 Summerland | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1899860 | 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 1656637. 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.











