Venola, California
27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Bakersfield census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93313. The Survey maps it on the Gosford quadrangle. It stands 374 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1910 to 1981The same ground, surveyed 71 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
14 surveys from 27 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.
- 1910 USGS Buena Vista Lake quadrangle1:125000
- 1912 USGS Buena Vista Lake quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1932 USGS Gosford quadrangle1:31680, 3 printings
- 1942 USGS Bakersfield West quadrangle1:62500
- 1948 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Gosford quadrangle1:24000
- 1954 USGS Gosford quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1966 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS Gosford quadrangle1:24000
- 1981 USGS Taft quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
330 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 330 fires within 5 miles of Venola between 2005 and 2020, burning about 371 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 43 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 | 238 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 43 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 16 |
| Smoking | 12 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 11 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Natural | 2 |
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 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kern County Fire Department | not named |
| 8 September 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Kern County Fire Department | not named |
| 8 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 8 September 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 7 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 3 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 28 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 25 September 2019 | Smoking | under an acre | Kern County Fire Department | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Venola: 5 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silica. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kern River Pit | Silica | Past Producer | ||
| County Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Kern River Commun Use Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Kern River Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Webster Sand Co. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
8 since 2017Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Venola in 8 storm reports between 2017 and 2025: 5 flood, 2 debris flow, 1 funnel cloud. 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 2017 | Debris Flow | Venola | $50,000 | California Highway Patrol reported State Route 99 was closed in both directions for about an hour due to power poles downed by thunderstorm wind gusts and a mud slide onto the road near Panama Lane in Bakersfield. |
| March 2025 | Funnel Cloud | Venola | - | Broadcast media report of a funnel cloud in southwest Bakersfield. |
| February 2023 | Flood | Venola | - | California Highway Patrol reported flooding on southbound SR 99 south of Wilson Rd. |
| March 2023 | Flood | Venola | - | California Highway Patrol reported flooding on northbound SR 99 south of Wilson Rd. in Bakersfield. |
| December 2022 | Flood | Venola | - | California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding on northbound SR 99 at the White Ln. exchange. |
| December 2022 | Flood | Venola | - | California Highway Patrol reported flooding in all lanes of SR 99 at the intersection of White Ln. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Venola | - | California Highway Patrol reported flooding on one lane of northbound State Route 99 at Wilson Rd. in Bakersfield. |
| September 2017 | Debris Flow | Venola | - | California Highway Patrol reported a mud slide and road flooding due to heavy rainfall on southbound State Route 99 just north of White Ln. in Bakersfield. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wible Orchard | 1.8 miles | 27 | |
| Gosford | 2.0 miles | 27 | |
| Old Stine | 2.6 miles | 27 | |
| Olde Stockdale | 2.6 miles | 27 | |
| Benton Park | 2.8 miles | 27 | |
| Rexland Acres | 3.0 miles | 29 | |
| Panama | 3.0 miles | 27 | |
| Kern City | 3.1 miles | 27 |
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.
| Wikidata item Q7920163 | 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 253001. 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.













