La Center, Washington
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1940 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the La Center census division. It lies in ZIP code area 98629. It stands on Brezee Creek. The Survey maps it on the Ridgefield quadrangle. 3,424 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 105 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresLa Center grew from 2,800 to 3,424 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 | 2,800 | |
| 2020 | 3,424 | +624 (+22%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 16 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.
- 1940 USGS La Center quadrangle1:62500
- 1948 USGS Vancouver quadrangle1:250000
- 1950 USGS Vancouver quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS La Center quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Ridgefield quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Vancouver quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1964 USGS Vancouver quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS Vancouver quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1990 USGS Ridgefield quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
109 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 109 fires within 5 miles of La Center between 1992 and 2020, burning about 80 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 4 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 46 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 22 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 13 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 7 |
| Other causes | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | BRATTON |
| 6 September 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
| 3 September 1998 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
| 28 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.3 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | 18 HUB |
| 28 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
| 24 September 1996 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
| 2 September 2012 | Smoking | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | MORGAN LANDING |
| 19 September 1999 | Other causes | 1.0 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 16 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of La Center: 13 past producers, 2 producers, 1 occurrence. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fly Creek Deposit | Aluminum | Occurrence | ||
| R B Muffet Brick and Tile Co | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Woodland Pit | Stone | Producer | ||
| B and S Rock Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Woodland Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Hillis Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Lewis River Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Lewis River Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unnamed Operation | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
8 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names La Center in 8 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 funnel cloud, 1 lightning. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1999 | Lightning | La Center | $15,000 | Lightning from one of the many intense thunderstorms in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington struck a maple tree on the BS Ranch in Northeast Clark county and killed four beef cows and a bull. |
| October 2025 | Funnel Cloud | La Center | - | Broadcast media reported a funnel cloud associated with a strong rain shower around 3:53 PM PDT Oct. 12, 2025 in La Center, Washington. There were no reports of a tornado on the ground and/or wind damage with this cell. |
| September 2024 | Funnel Cloud | La Center | - | A video posted by the general public on Facebook showed rotation within a funnel cloud. The video was taken from La Center, Washington and showed the funnel to the northwest. The location is an estimate from the video and radar data. |
| October 2023 | Tornado (EF0) | La Center | - | A brief tornado confirmed by video appeared on the ground for less than 1 minute in La Center, WA. Trash cans and a basketball hoop were blown over, along with a few roof shingles seen swirling in the air. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Center | - | The wind toppled a small tree, which fell onto the roadway. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Center | - | A gust of wind knocked power lines down. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Center | - | Lots of tree debris reported on the highway. |
| May 2004 | Tornado (F0) | La Center | - | A tornado reportedly touched down 2 miles northeast of La Center and uprooted a 1 1/2 foot diameter tree and tore off part of a barn roof. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Pioneer | 2.3 miles | 16 | |
| Pine Grove | 2.8 miles | 14 | |
| Pioneer | 3.4 miles | 16 | |
| Highland | 4.3 miles | 14 | |
| Hayes | 4.8 miles | 14 | |
| Ridgefield | 5.0 miles | 16 | |
| Cathlapotle (historical) | 5.6 miles | 18 | |
| Lambert | 5.7 miles | 16 |
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 Center | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1506592 | 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 1512361. 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.








