Universal City, California
45 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1894 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the San Fernando Valley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 91608. It lies near Dark Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Burbank quadrangle.
Then and now
1894 to 1979The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1894 against another survey:
On record in Universal City
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 within a mile 2 records
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
Campo de Cahuengalisted 2003 · 0.5 miles away
Case Study House No. 1listed 2013 · 0.8 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
20 surveys from 45 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.
- 1894 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:62500
- 1896 USGS Santa Monica quadrangle1:62500
- 1898 USGS Santa Monica quadrangle1:62500
- 1900 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1901 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1902 USGS Santa Monica quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1920 USGS Santa Monica quadrangle1:62500
- 1921 USGS Santa Monica quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1926 USGS Burbank quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1948 USGS Burbank quadrangle1:24000
- 1949 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Burbank quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1966 USGS Burbank quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1966 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1976 USGS Burbank quadrangle1:24000
- 1979 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
103 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 103 fires within 5 miles of Universal City between 1995 and 2020, burning about 1,054 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 7 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 | 59 |
| Smoking | 16 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 11 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 7 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Natural | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 29 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area | EAST FIRE |
| 24 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Los Angeles County Fire Department | not named |
| 21 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 18 September 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area | FRANKLIN |
| 12 September 2011 | Smoking | under an acre | Los Angeles County Fire Department | not named |
| 7 August 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 30 August 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 11 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Universal City: 5 past producers, 3 prospects, 2 unknowns, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Jensen | Clay | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed Adit | Gold, Copper | Prospect | ||
| Unnamed Calcite Occurrence | Calcium | Prospect | ||
| Cahuenga | Gold | Prospect | ||
| Concrete Materials Co. Pit/Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Forest Lawn Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Stine & Ellis | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Brush Canyon Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Los Angeles Park Dept. Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Mill City Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
5 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Universal City in 5 storm reports between 2007 and 2024: 5 flash flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2007 | Flash Flood | Universal City | $300,000 | Strong thunderstorms dumped heavy rain over the Barham burn area. The heavy generated a significant mud and debris flow below the burn area. Nearly two feet of mud covered a hundred yard stretch of Forest Lawn Drive. A dozen parked cars were buried by the mud and debris. No injuries were reported. |
| November 2008 | Flash Flood | Universal City | $10,000 | Heavy rain showers, in excess of one half inch per hour, fell across the Barham Fire burn area. The heavy showers produced flash flooding and mud flows along Forest Lawn Drive where over 1 foot of water and mud was reported. |
| February 2024 | Flash Flood | Universal City | - | California Highway Patrol reported significant flooding on Highway 101 near Campo de Cahuenga. Numerous vehicles were stuck in the flood waters. |
| February 2023 | Flash Flood | Universal City | - | Heavy rainfall generated flash flooding on Highway 134 near Buena Vista Drive. |
| January 2008 | Flash Flood | Universal City | - | A mud and debris flow developed around the Barham Burn area. Forest Lawn Drive was closed due to over one foot of mud and debris. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outpost Estates | 2.0 miles | 43 | |
| Magnolia Park | 2.0 miles | 45 | |
| La Paco | 2.1 miles | 45 | |
| McNeil | 2.3 miles | 45 | |
| Hollywood Heights | 2.3 miles | 43 | |
| Studio City | 2.4 miles | 44 | |
| Whitley Heights | 2.4 miles | 43 | |
| North Hollywood | 2.7 miles | 44 |
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 Universal City | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1376480 | 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 1661603. 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.



















