Susanville, California
22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the Susanville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 96130. It stands on Piute Creek. The Survey maps it on the Susanville quadrangle. 16,728 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,186 feet above sea level.
Research this city
Then and now
1886 to 1995The 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.


On record in Susanville
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 3 records
Lassen County Court Houselisted 1998
Roop's Fortlisted 1974
Susanville Railroad Depotlisted 2001
Population over time
2 figuresSusanville fell from 17,947 to 16,728 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 | 17,947 | |
| 2020 | 16,728 | -1,219 (-7%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 22 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.
- 1886 USGS Honey Lake quadrangle1:250000
- 1891 USGS Honey Lake quadrangle1:250000
- 1893 USGS Honey Lake quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1954 USGS Susanville quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Westwood quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Westwood quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Westwood quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Susanville quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1968 USGS Susanville quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Susanville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1988 USGS Susanville quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1995 USGS Susanville quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
280 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 280 fires within 5 miles of Susanville between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,258 acres in total. 67 started naturally. 10 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 | 81 |
| Natural | 67 |
| Debris and open burning | 50 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 36 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 13 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 13 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 10 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 acres | Lassen-Modoc Unit | CENTER. |
| 9 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.8 acres | Lassen-Modoc Unit | THUMPER 2 |
| 9 September 2010 | Smoking | 1.3 acres | Lassen-Modoc Unit | DIANE |
| 9 September 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Northern California District | CRAMER |
| 8 September 2001 | Smoking | under an acre | Northern California District | CHERRY |
| 8 September 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Northern California District | LMU HOBO |
| 7 September 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 30 acres | Lassen-Modoc Unit | SUSAN RIVER APARTMENTS 4 |
| 7 September 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 210 acres | Lassen-Modoc Unit | DIANE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 32 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 32 workings within 5 miles of Susanville: 17 occurrences, 7 unknowns, 4 producers, 4 past producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Stone, Stone, Dimension, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Claim | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Lantz | Iron | Occurrence | Hematite | |
| Lassen Sand and Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Standish | Pumice | Producer | ||
| Unnamed Location | Vermiculite | Occurrence | ||
| Burroughs and Raker | Stone | Occurrence | ||
| Burroughs and Raker | Stone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Gold Run Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Greig | Stone | Occurrence | ||
| Greig | Stone, Dimension | Unknown |
Storms near this place
24 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Susanville in 24 storm reports between 2002 and 2025: 16 heavy rain, 4 flood, 3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2005 | Flood | Susanville | $5,000,000 | Extensive flooding was reported along the Susan River. Streets in Susanville and county roads were flooded. Flooding also occurred at a Union Pacific railroad trestle. Logs and other debris became lodged in the trestle and water was forced to flow around the trestle, flooding the area. Minor flooding was also reported on the Pit River near Bieber and Nubieber. |
| February 2017 | Flood | Susanville | $500,000 | Major flooding on the Susan River caused extensive damage in and to the east of Susanville from the afternoon of the 9th into the 10th. The flooding prompted the evacuation of a number of homes and apartment complexes in Susanville during the afternoon and evening of the 9th. The damage estimate for this event is rough and could be significantly in error. |
| March 2025 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | CoCoRaHS Station CA-LS-1, 3.2 SSW of Susanville, reported a rain total of 1.33 inches. |
| February 2025 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | A trained spotter located 5.0 mi WNW of Susanville, CA, reported a 24 hour rainfall/liquid total of 1.22 inches. |
| December 2025 | Flood | Susanville | - | The California Highway Patrol reported flooding along the Susan River near the cut-off road to Bronson road west of Litchfield. |
| October 2024 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | A mesonet station (WWDC1-Westwood) located 4.0 mi SSW of Freonyer Pass, CA, a mesonet station (BUFC1-Bull Flat) located 11.0 mi NNE of Wendel, CA, a mesonet station (LAFC1-Laufman) located 6.0 mi S of Honey Lake, CA, and a trained spotter located 5.0 mi WNW of Susanville, CA, reported total rainfall amounts of 0.71 inches, 0.69 inches, 0.61 Inches, and 0.52 inches respectively. |
| December 2024 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | COCORAHS station (CA-LS-1 Susanville) located 3.0 mi SSW of Susanville, CA, reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 0.53 inches. |
| November 2024 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | A trained spotter located 5.0 mi WNW of Susanville, CA, reported a 24 hour rainfall/liquid total of 2.1 inches. The 2-day storm total was 3.34 inches. |
| September 2023 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | A Cocorahs station (CA-LS-2) located 3.5 mi SSW Susanville, CA, a trained spotter located 5.0 mi WNW of Susanville, CA, and a mesonet station (GORC1-Gordon) located 9.0 mi NW of Spaulding, CA, reported storm total rainfall amounts of 0.56, 0.67, and 1.37 inches respectively. |
| July 2022 | Hail | Susanville | - | Trained weather spotter reported half dollar sized hail and very heavy rainfall. |
| January 2019 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | CoCoRaHS station CA-LS-1 3 miles south-southwest of Susanville reported 2.34 inches of rainfall in a 24 hour period from 16 January 0700PST to 17 January 0700PST. |
| March 2019 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | CoCoRaHS Station CA-LS-2, 3 miles south-southwest of Susanville reported 0.77 inches of rainfall over a 24 hour period from 5 March 1700PST to 6 March 1700PST. |
| December 2019 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | Trained weather spotter 5 miles west-northwest of Susanville reported 2.53 inches of rainfall in a 48-hour period from 6 December 1700PST to 8 December 1700PST at an elevation of 5072 feet MSL. Spotter also reported receiving 2.75 inches of wet snowfall during this period. |
| December 2019 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | CO-OP Observer station SNVC1 1 mile west-northwest of Susanville reported 2.25 inches of rainfall in a 48-hour period from 6 December 1100PST to 8 December 1100PST at an elevation of 4184 feet MSL. |
| December 2018 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | CoCoRaHS observer CA-LS-1 3 miles south-southwest of Susanville reported 0.81 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period from 24 December 0700PST to 25 December 0700PST. |
| March 2018 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | Trained weather spotter 6 miles west-northwest of Susanville reported storm total rainfall of 4.52 inches from 20 March 1129PST to 23 March 1129PST. |
| April 2018 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | Trained weather spotter 6 miles south-southeast of Susanville measured 1.61 inches of rainfall in a 24 hour period from 6 April 1043PST to 7 April 1043PST. |
| April 2018 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | CoCoRaHS station CA-LS-2, 3 miles south-southwest of Susanville reported 1.12 inches of rainfall in a 24 hour period from 6 April 0700PST to 7 April 0700PST. |
| August 2017 | Hail | Susanville | - | Reports of hail between 15001530PST in downtown Susanville with the largest hail up to golf ball size occurring closer to 1530PST. Leaves removed from many trees and garden plants damaged. |
| February 2006 | Flood | Susanville | - | Flooding occurred along the Susan River. The river was above flood stage for only a couple of hours during the early morning of the 28th. The main effect was lowland and rural flooding. However, the public also reported street and creek flooding in Susanville. |
| July 2003 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | A spotter measured .88 inches of rain in an hour from a thunderstorm. Minor street flooding was reported. |
| July 2003 | Heavy Rain | Susanville | - | One inch of rain fell in the Willard Hill area, about 9 miles west of Susanville. No flooding was reported. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Susanville | - | 73 mph wind gust |
| July 2003 | Hail | Susanville | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnstonville | 4.1 miles | 23 | |
| Leavitt | 6.9 miles | 23 | |
| The Crossing | 10.6 miles | 21 | |
| Janesville | 10.7 miles | 22 | |
| Belfast | 10.8 miles | 21 | |
| Goumaz (historical) | 11.1 miles | 22 | |
| Buntingville | 12.7 miles | 21 | |
| Standish | 12.7 miles | 21 |
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 Susanville | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q629584 | 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 277619. 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.











