Simla, Colorado
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Simla census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80835. The Survey maps it on the Simla quadrangle. 601 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,978 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresSimla fell from 618 to 601 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 618 | |
| 2020 | 601 | -17 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 14 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.
- 1953 USGS Denver quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1957 USGS Denver quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Denver quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Denver quadrangle1:250000
- 1970 USGS Simla quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1983 USGS Castle Rock quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
12 since 2010Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Simla between 2010 and 2018, burning about 4 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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 | 12 |
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 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | El Paso County | UNKNOWN |
| 11 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | not named |
| 27 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | SIMLA |
| 30 June 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | not named |
| 17 April 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | SIMLA |
| 25 March 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | SIMLA |
| 10 March 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | SIMLA |
| 19 February 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | SIMLA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Simla: 3 producers, 2 occurrences. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Gravel Pits | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | Gravel | |
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | Gravel |
Storms near this place
60 of 79 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Simla in 79 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 49 hail, 19 tornado, 8 thunderstorm wind, 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2023 | Flood | Simla | $50,000 | Heavy rain caused flooding and flash flooding which forced the closure of CO-86 at mile marker 44. Storm totals in the area ranged from 3.0 to 4.5 inches. |
| August 2024 | Flash Flood | Simla | - | County Roads department has closed CR 117 from Highway 86 south to CR 90. Reed Springs Creek is over the road. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Simla | - | The hail broke the rear window of a vehicle, in addition to both side mirrors and an exterior light. |
| August 2023 | Hail | Simla | - | Xxxx. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Simla | - | A home sustained some roof and window damage and an RV was blown on its side. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | Two tornadoes touched down in close proximity to one another, one of which was anticyclonic. Both occurred in open country so no damage was observed. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down in open country. No damage was observed. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | A well defined tornado touched down in open country. No damage was observed. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down in open country. No damage was observed. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF1) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down and destroyed a pole barn. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down for a short time but no damage was observed. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down briefly but did no damage. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF1) | Simla | - | A well defined tornado touched down and produced some damage. Near U.S. Highway 24, tree branches 1 to 3 inches diameter were snapped. The tornado then strengthened to a magnitude EF1 tornado as it tracked south of the highway. Several hardwood trees were snapped near their trunks. A fuel tank was thrown and a barn damaged. In addition, a road sign was flattened at its base. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | A tornado with an anticyclonic rotation touched down briefly but did no damage. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down in open country. No damage was observed. |
| June 2015 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | A well defined tornado touched down and produced some property damage at a farmstead. The home, barn and nearby outbuildings sustained damage. A power pole was also snapped about 5 feet above the ground. |
| June 2012 | Tornado (EF2) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down and produced moderate to severe damage to numerous homes and other farm buildings in southern Elbert County. One person suffered minor injuries. |
| June 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down briefly but did no damage. |
| May 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down but did no damage. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Simla | - | Strong thunderstorm winds downed two power poles near the intersection of State Highway 86 and County Road 125 north of Simla. |
| May 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down but did no damage. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Simla | - | Strong thunderstorm winds downed power lines and a power pole. |
| May 2004 | Tornado (F2) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down and severely damaged two farmsteads. The first farmstead was struck approximately 10 miles north-northwest of Simla. One tree was knocked over by the tornado. One cow was killed, another was severely injured and had to be destroyed. An unoccupied ranch house on a neighboring farmstead, about 11.5 miles north of Simla, was also destroyed. The tornado picked up the modular home and its contents, and dumped it about 500 feet away from the farmstead. In addition, a calving shed and a two story barn built in 1925 were destroyed. A pig, lamb and dog were killed. The twister also picked up and scattered a dozen trucks, farm vehicles and cars on the farmstead. |
| August 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down but did no damage. |
| August 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Simla | - | A multi-vortex tornado touched down but did no damage. |
| August 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Simla | - | A tornado touched down but did no damage. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Simla | - | Intense thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a shed. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Simla | - | Intense thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a shed. |
| July 1997 | Flash Flood | Simla | - | The active monsoon pattern continued to cause flooding and flash flooding problems as another 3 to 5 inches of rain fell on to already saturated soils. Two feet of water reportedly covered portions of roadway near Kiowa. Highwaters also forced the evacuation of several residents in Simla. Highway 86, between Simla and Limon, was closed due to highwaters. In addition, I-70 was closed west of Limon when a nearby stream overflowed its banks covering a portion of the interstate with mud and water. The floodwaters also washed out one of Limon's main water lines. |
| May 1993 | Hail | Simla | - | Thunderstorms produced hail up to golf ball-size between Colorado Springs and Limon. |
| September 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| August 2023 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Simla | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matheson | 6.1 miles | 15 | |
| Beck Sand Draw Crossing | 8.1 miles | 12 | |
| Fondis | 14.9 miles | 11 | |
| Cedar Point | 18.0 miles | 15 | |
| Kutch | 19.6 miles | 13 | |
| Bijou | 20.3 miles | 14 | |
| Agate | 23.3 miles | 17 | |
| Elbert | 24.6 miles | 25 |
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 Simla | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2304135 | 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 193219. 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.





