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Temecula, California

30 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Murrieta census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92590. It lies near Long Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Temecula quadrangle. 110,003 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,017 feet above sea level.

Temecula within Riverside County

Then and now

1901 to 1982

The same ground, surveyed 81 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Temecula, surveyed 1982
Topographic sheet of Temecula, surveyed 1901

On record in Temecula

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Temecula grew from 100,097 to 110,003 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.

YearPeople Change
2010100,097
2020110,003+9,906 (+10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 30 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

823 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 823 fires within 5 miles of Temecula between 1992 and 2020, burning about 14,965 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 74 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/undetermined407
Equipment and vehicle use146
Misuse of fire by a minor91
Arson/incendiarism74
Smoking49
Debris and open burning36
Recreation and ceremony11
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Natural4

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 2019Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresRiverside UnitMORENO RD / OLD TOWN FRON
9 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionVIA NORTE TEM
9 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRiverside UnitMISSIONS
8 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRiverside UnitBLUE WATER WY TEM
8 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresRiverside Unit6TH ST / OLD TOWN FRONT S
8 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRiverside UnitBUNKER DR TEM
8 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionDE LUZ RD / CALLE CAPISTR
8 September 2005Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreRiverside UnitLOCAL FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Riverside County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Temecula: 4 past producers, 2 occurrences, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Manganese, Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Murrieta Hot SpringsGeothermalProducer
Parkwest Industrial Center PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Temecula QuarryStone, DimensionPast Producer
Temecula QuarryGranitePast Producer
Machado ProspectManganeseOccurrence
Machado ProspectManganeseOccurrence
Murrieta PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Temecula Sand Company PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Riverside County

Storms near this place

25 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Temecula in 25 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 6 wildfire, 6 flash flood, 4 flood, 4 heavy rain. The reports record 37 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
February 2003Heavy RainTemecula24 hurt, $250,000no account filed
August 2000WildfireTemecula9 hurt, $40,000no account filed
July 2000WildfireTemecula3 hurtno account filed
July 2002WildfireTemecula1 hurtno account filed
January 2005Flash FloodTemecula$5,000,000no account filed
February 2005Tornado (F1)Temecula$100,000no account filed
August 2017Thunderstorm WindTemecula$50,000A severe downburst struck Temecula and Murrieta, winds overturned a big rig, downed trees, and damaged traffic signals.
February 2004Flash FloodTemecula$25,000no account filed
January 2005Flash FloodTemecula$15,000no account filed
September 2024Thunderstorm WindTemecula$10,000Socal Edison weather station on Santa Margarita River preserve. This area was survey by WCM but could not find any wind damage. Local residents reported strong wind.
February 2004Flash FloodTemecula$10,000no account filed
June 2025Heavy RainTemecula-A public source reported heavy rain, with a measured 1.10 inches of rain within a brief period of time.
March 2023FloodTemecula-Roads near the intersection of Anza Road and De Portola Road were shut down due to flowing water and a mud slide. A jeep vehicle required a rescue after it was stuck in 2 feet of flowing water and mud. About 1.4 inches of rain fell in this area in the previous 12 hours, with 1 inch falling in 6 hours.
March 2023FloodTemecula-A trained spotter in Temecula shared a photo of a flooded road crossing near Murrieta Creek.
January 2021Heavy RainTemecula-Spotter reports 1.6 inches of heavy rainfall.
December 2020FloodTemecula-CalTrans reports Interstate 15 South at Temecula Parkway/Highway 79 with mud and water in lanes 1 and 2. The area measured 1.5 to 1.9 inch rainfall in 24 hours.
December 2014Flash FloodTemecula-CHP reported that the road needs to be closed due to flooding at Rancho California Road and Anza Road.
September 2013Flash FloodTemecula-Roadway flooding 1/2 mile south of the SR79 and SR371 juncture. Several washes were flowing over the roadway with mud in the roadway.
February 2001FloodTemecula-Heavy rain and runoff caused mud slides and street flooding across the southern end of the Inland Empire. Canyon Lake rose to within inches of overtopping Railroad Canyon Dam.
November 2003Funnel CloudTemecula-no account filed
April 2003Heavy RainTemecula-no account filed
July 2003WildfireTemecula-no account filed
June 2002WildfireTemecula-no account filed
July 2000WildfireTemecula-no account filed
April 1999Funnel CloudTemecula-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Riverside 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
Windsor Crest0.8 miles30
Lake Village0.9 miles30
Los Ranchitos1.0 miles30
Country Manor Estates2.1 miles33
Colina Vista2.7 miles33
Linda Rose2.8 miles35
Rainbow Canyon Village3.1 miles33
Temecula Ranchos3.6 miles33

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 TemeculaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q838785The 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 1652799. 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.