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Valley Center, California

42 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Valley Center census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92082. It lies near Bear Valley. The Survey maps it on the Valley Center quadrangle. 10,087 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,312 feet above sea level.

Valley Center within San Diego County

Then and now

1893 to 1996

The same ground, surveyed 103 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Valley Center, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Valley Center, surveyed 1893

Compare 1893 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Valley Center grew from 9,277 to 10,087 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
20109,277
202010,087+810 (+9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

16 surveys from 42 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

471 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 471 fires within 5 miles of Valley Center between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,248 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 51 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/undetermined163
Equipment and vehicle use151
Debris and open burning56
Arson/incendiarism51
Misuse of fire by a minor20
Recreation and ceremony9
Smoking9
Natural6
Other causes3
Power generation/transmission/distribution3

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 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionBROADWAY
9 September 2012Naturalunder an acreSan Diego UnitVALLEY 4
9 September 1995Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouthern California AgencyEAST CANAL
8 September 1995Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresSan Diego UnitVINYARD
7 September 1994Debris and open burning3.0 acresSan Diego UnitCOOLWATER
6 September 2004Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresSan Diego UnitLILAC
6 September 1997Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSan Diego UnitVISTA.
6 September 1993Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Diego UnitSTATE 784

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Diego 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 Valley Center: 5 prospects, 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Lead, Silver. 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
Bradburry ProspectLead, SilverProspect
Valley Center Borrow PitGraniteProducer
A.M.E. QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Lake Wohlford Road PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
La Condado MineGoldProspect
Moe MinesGoldProspect
Monarch MineGoldProspect
White Oak MineGoldProspect

Every working recorded in San Diego County

Storms near this place

15 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Valley Center in 15 storm reports between 1997 and 2023: 9 flash flood, 3 wildfire, 3 flood. The reports record 2 deaths and 18 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
October 2003WildfireValley Center2 killed, 18 hurt, $55,220,000no account filed
August 1997WildfireValley Center$1,750,000Tinder dry brush and hot, dry weather, intensified a fire which burned 457 acres on the north side of Lake Wohlford. Although arson was blamed for starting the blaze, shifting seabreeze winds of 15 to 25 mph, helped keep it from being controlled. Eleven homes, twenty out buildings, and thirty vehicles were lost. Damage was estimated at $1.75 million
February 2004Flash FloodValley Center$35,000no account filed
February 2004Flash FloodValley Center$30,000no account filed
February 2005Flash FloodValley Center$20,000no account filed
March 2004Flash FloodValley Center$20,000no account filed
January 2005Flash FloodValley Center$5,000no account filed
January 2023Flash FloodValley Center-The Department of Highways reported water flowing across Cole Grade Road from the San Luis Rey River. Rainfall of 8 to 11 inches had been received in the 72 hours prior to the flood report.
January 2023FloodValley Center-Report received from CalTrans. Woods Valley Road near Valley Center was flooded in both lanes due to rainwater runoff and poor drainage.
January 2023FloodValley Center-CalTrans report - Woods Valley Road near Valley Center was flooded in both lanes due to rainwater runoff and poor drainage.
March 2023FloodValley Center-Flooding on Vesper Road lead to multiple vehicle spinouts. About 0.90 to 1.10 inches of rain fell in this area in the previous 12 hours.
November 2019Flash FloodValley Center-Flash flooding at Cumbres Road, northwest of Valley Center. One inch in one hour was observed in one hour, and two inches of rain fell the day before. Some damage was reported in the area.
September 2014Flash FloodValley Center-California Highway Patrol reported a river of flood waters washing across the road at the intersection of Highway 79 and Chihuahua Valley Road. They shut down the road at that spot.
August 2014Flash FloodValley Center-CHP reported water over the highway near the intersection of Highway 79 and Chihuahua Valley Road with traffic stopped in both directions. A spotter also reported the roadway washed out at the same location.
October 1999WildfireValley Center-This was initially a one acre fire that was controlled on October 1, but it flared up on October 2 and quickly grew to 150 acres before it was brought under control again.

Every storm recorded in San Diego 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
Hidden Meadows4.2 miles42
Jesmond Dene4.8 miles42
Lilac5.5 miles32
Lawrence Welk Resort Village5.7 miles40
Rincon6.3 miles35
Pauma Valley6.5 miles35
Twin Oaks6.8 miles40
Richland7.2 miles40

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 Valley CenterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2861838The 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 1661616. 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.