BlockBefore

Vidal, California

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1943 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Needles census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92280. The Survey maps it on the Vidal quadrangle. It stands 627 feet above sea level.

Vidal within San Bernardino County

Then and now

1943 to 1985

The same ground, surveyed 42 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Vidal, surveyed 1985
Topographic sheet of Vidal, surveyed 1943

Compare 1943 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 18 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

6 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Vidal between 1993 and 2005, burning about 168 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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/undetermined2
Arson/incendiarism2
Debris and open burning2

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
4 September 1995Arson/incendiarism90 acresColorado River AgencyHOLT
22 August 1993Debris and open burning2.0 acresColorado River AgencyRAYS
28 July 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined70 acresRiverside UnitLOCAL 14160
13 May 1993Debris and open burning5.0 acresColorado River AgencyWEST BURNS
17 March 1993Arson/incendiarismunder an acreRiverside UnitLOCAL 11206
3 October 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresColorado River DistrictVIDAL JUNC

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Bernardino County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 23 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 23 workings within 5 miles of Vidal: 11 occurrences, 5 prospects, 3 unknowns, 3 past producers. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Copper, Clay, Manganese. 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
HawkeyeGold, Copper, SilverOccurrence
Lookout ProspectsGold, Silver, CopperOccurrence
Sanborn ClaimCopper, Gold, SilverOccurrence
Unnamed Manganese ProspectManganeseOccurrence
Vidal BentoniteBentoniteUnknown
Vidal Lime ClaimCopper, Silver, GoldPast Producer
BrownClayPast Producer
J. W. Wilson ClaimsClayOccurrence
Alice MineGold, CopperPast Producer
Cathy Jean MineGold, CopperUnknown

Every working recorded in San Bernardino County

Storms near this place

2 since 2016

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Vidal in 2 storm reports between 2016 and 2018: 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 2018Flash FloodVidal$1,000Highway 62 was flooded at mile marker 134.
August 2016Flash FloodVidal$1,000A vehicle was stranded due to flash flooding on Highway 62.

Every storm recorded in San Bernardino 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
Calzona5.3 miles21
Vidal Junction5.9 miles18
Big River8.0 miles22
Earp11.5 miles22
Bluewater13.2 miles22
Cross Roads16.9 miles25
Rice18.2 miles15
Freda21.2 miles14

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 VidalAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3476427The 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 1661637. 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.