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Wolf, California

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1998. It stands in the Grass Valley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95949. It lies near Pine Hill. The Survey maps it on the Wolf quadrangle. It stands 1,578 feet above sea level.

Wolf within Nevada County

Then and now

1888 to 1998

The same ground, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Wolf, surveyed 1998
Topographic sheet of Wolf, surveyed 1888

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 28 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

493 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 493 fires within 5 miles of Wolf between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,310 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 14 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
Equipment and vehicle use182
Missing data/not specified/undetermined156
Debris and open burning104
Misuse of fire by a minor16
Arson/incendiarism14
Power generation/transmission/distribution9
Smoking8
Natural2
Other causes1
Recreation and ceremony1

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 2009Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitMCCOURTNEY
9 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitRIDGE
8 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionOAK
8 September 2015Debris and open burningunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitCARRIAGE
8 September 2014Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitJULISA
8 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitBEAR
8 September 1997Debris and open burningunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitCAIN
8 September 1994Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitMACDONALD

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Nevada County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 76 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 76 workings within 5 miles of Wolf: 23 occurrences, 23 prospects, 21 past producers, 6 unknowns. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Copper, Manganese, Gold, Chromium. 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
Elder MineCopper, MolybdenumOccurrenceChalcopyrite, Malachite, Pyrite
Half Chrome MineIron, ChromiumPast Producer1916
Iron-CopperIron, CopperOccurrence
Lime Kiln RanchLimestone, DimensionOccurrence
Nevada County Pb-Zn PropertyLead, ZincPast Producer
Nevada Mining Co.Copper, Gold, SilverProspectChalcopyrite, Iron, Malachite
Nickerson RanchCopper, GoldOccurrenceVein
Pine Hill Mining CoGold, Copper, SilverPast ProducerCopper, Gold, Malachite
Unnamed ProspectCopper, Mercury, GoldOccurrenceVein
Unnamed ProspectCopper, MercuryProspect

Every working recorded in Nevada County

Storms near this place

4 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wolf in 4 storm reports between 2012 and 2026: 3 flood, 1 tornado. 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
March 2018FloodWolf$100,000Combie road flooded due to overtopping of the adjacent Ragsdale Creek.
April 2026FloodWolf-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding from heavy rain on Highway 49, with vehicles having a difficult time driving through.
December 2025FloodWolf-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding from heavy rain.
October 2012Tornado (EF1)Wolf-The Lake of the Pines Tornado: Supercells developed behind the cold front along a north-south boundary in the middle of the Central Valley, where both instability and shear were large. The Fire Department reported a tornado touchdown at approximately 4:30pm (PST). The estimated damage path length was approximately 4 miles with wind speeds estimated at 90-100mph. The tornado touched down near highway 49 and Combie Rd and snapped tree trunks of 1 to 3 ft in diameter. Many trees were uprooted and a few power lines were blown over. Some buildings were also badly damaged in the area.

Every storm recorded in Nevada 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
Higgins Corner2.5 miles29
Dew Drop3.4 miles29
Willaura Estates3.7 miles29
Cherry Creek Acres4.3 miles29
Lake of the Pines4.5 miles29
Sierra Knoll Estates5.5 miles29
Alta Sierra Estates5.8 miles29
Alta Sierra Ranches6.8 miles29

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 WolfAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q8029771The 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 252838. 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.