La Grande, Oregon
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the La Grande census division. It lies in ZIP code area 97850. It stands on Mill Creek. The Survey maps it on the La Grande quadrangle. 13,026 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,785 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in La Grande
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 12 records
Administration Buildinglisted 1980
John Anthony Houselisted 1988
Anthony-Buckley Houselisted 1985
Foley Buildinglisted 1985
La Grande Commercial Historic Districtlisted 2001
La Grande Neighborhood Clublisted 1988
Roesch Buildinglisted 1996
Slater Buildinglisted 1983
August J. Stange Houselisted 1996
U.S. Post Office and Federal Buildinglisted 1979- Hot Lake Resortlisted 1979
- Oregon Trail: La Grande to Hilgard Segmentlisted 2021
Population over time
3 figuresLa Grande grew from 12,327 to 13,026 between 2000 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 12,327 | |
| 2010 | 13,082 | +755 (+6%) |
| 2020 | 13,026 | -56 (-0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 10 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 Pendleton quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Pendleton quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS La Grande SE quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1979 USGS La Grande quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS La Grande quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
53 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 53 fires within 5 miles of La Grande between 1992 and 2020, burning about 44 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Recreation and ceremony | 16 |
| Natural | 13 |
| Debris and open burning | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 4 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.5 acres | Oregon Department of Forestry Salem Headquarters | ROBS HILL |
| 3 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | LaGrande District | PEACH CREEK I |
| 2 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | LaGrande District | PREDATOR |
| 2 September 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | LaGrande District | GLASS HILL |
| 10 September 2017 | Natural | under an acre | Oregon Department of Forestry Salem Headquarters | MILL CREEK |
| 1 September 1995 | Smoking | under an acre | LaGrande District | HUNTER |
| 31 August 1999 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | LaGrande District | DEALS CANYON |
| 30 August 1997 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | LaGrande District | ATV II |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 21 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 21 workings within 5 miles of La Grande: 11 past producers, 8 producers, 2 occurrences. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Platinum. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Grande | PGE | Occurrence | ||
| La Grande Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction, Platinum | Occurrence | Sand and Gravel | |
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| La Grande Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unnamed Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Basalt Quarry | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Dry Beaver | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Dry Beaver Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
32 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names La Grande in 32 storm reports between 1997 and 2022: 11 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 4 lightning, 3 heavy rain. The reports record 1 injury. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Grande | 1 hurt, $300,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Grande | $30,000 | Strong winds associated with a thunderstorm knocked a ponderosa pine tree onto a four-year-old manufactured home. Two large tree limbs punched through a bedroom ceiling next to a bed, the bathroom, and a back TV room. The property damage from this event is estimated at $30,000. |
| August 2001 | Lightning | La Grande | $20,000 | Lightning struck a house in La Grande, completely blowing out all the electrical and telephone outlets. |
| July 2004 | Flash Flood | La Grande | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Grande | $2,000 | A thunderstorm moved northeast through LaGrande toppling trees, snapping limbs, and downing power lines. Hail and heavy rainfall with the storm dropped visibility to near zero, causing minor street flooding and a bicycle-vehicle accident which injured bicycle rider. A baseball game in the Babe Ruth State Tournament was stopped for two hours. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Grande | $1,000 | A thunderstorm produced pea sized hail, blew down trees, and knocked out power to residents. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Grande | $50 | Two inch diameter tree limbs downed. |
| August 2022 | Hail | La Grande | - | A social media report from Facebook report from La Grande, OR indicated that hailstones larger than a quarter and up to the size of 1.5 inches had fallen around 2:50pm on the 11th. Further upstream, a trained spotter 1 mile southeast of Imbler, OR reported hailstones up to 1.25 inches. A measured wind gust to 60 mph occurred at the La Grande Airport. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Grande | - | Four inch and larger diameter tree branches down at the baseball field in La Grande due to thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2012 | Hail | La Grande | - | Dime to golfball sized hail reported. |
| June 2011 | Heavy Rain | La Grande | - | Rainfall of 1.61 inches fell in 1.5 hours. |
| June 2010 | Hail | La Grande | - | Hail accompanied by 40-50 mph winds. Spotter also observed a wall cloud about 5 miles south of LaGrande. |
| August 2006 | Lightning | La Grande | - | A power pole was struck and 120 residents lost power for 35 minutes. |
| May 2004 | Heavy Rain | La Grande | - | A portion of Morgan Lake Road washed out as excess run-off caused the shoulder to drop away, bending the guard rail out from the road. The property damage from this event is estimated at $5,000. |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Grande | - | Numerous trees were reported down north and west of La Grande. |
| July 2002 | Hail | La Grande | - | In addition to the hail, strong wind gusts caused numerous minor power outages in the Grande Ronde Valley according to Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative. |
| September 1998 | Lightning | La Grande | - | Lightning truck a tree in the Hillcrest Cemetery. The bolt cut all the bark off one side of the tree in an eight inch strip from the top of the tree to the ground. The strip of bark and wood landed on the ground at a right angle. Some pieces of bark and wood came to rest 100 feet away. |
| May 1998 | Hail | La Grande | - | Hail up to 1 1/4 inches fell in the La Grande area. Up to 0.52 inches of rain fell in 20 minutes. Hail was still on the ground two hours later along a seven mile stretch of I-84 west of La Grande. |
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | La Grande | - | A sudden downpour caused flooding in southeast La Grande. Two creeks overflowed their banks closing several streets for nearly three hours. At least two houses had flood damage. Sand bags were used to try to keep water away from houses. |
| July 1998 | Heavy Rain | La Grande | - | Up to 1.50 inches of rain fell in 20 minutes. 0.25 inches of rain fell in only two minutes. Wind gusts to 50 mph were also reported. The result was a flooded underpass and several inches of water flowing along La Grande streets. Eight hundred to a thousand residents had power outages for several hours. The storm nearly wiped out crops in a 1 1/2 to 2 mile wide by 6 to 7 mile long strip between Island City and Cove. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Grande | - | A tree limb blown into a power substation tripped a braker leaving 1,950 customers without power for just over an hour. |
| June 2019 | Hail | La Grande | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | La Grande | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | La Grande | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Funnel Cloud | La Grande | - | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Funnel Cloud | La Grande | - | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Hail | La Grande | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | La Grande | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | La Grande | - | no account filed |
| September 2004 | Lightning | La Grande | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Grande | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Funnel Cloud | La Grande | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island City | 2.5 miles | 10 | |
| Perry | 4.5 miles | 10 | |
| Hilgard | 7.7 miles | 10 | |
| Alicel | 7.9 miles | 13 | |
| Hot Lake | 8.8 miles | 12 | |
| Imbler | 11.4 miles | 13 | |
| Summerville | 12.2 miles | 10 | |
| Union | 14.3 miles | 12 |
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 La Grande | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1645049 | 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 1164107. 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.




