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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.

La Center within Clark County

Population over time

2 figures

La 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.

YearPeople Change
20102,800
20203,424+624 (+22%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 16 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

109 since 1992

Regional 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 burning46
Missing data/not specified/undetermined22
Recreation and ceremony13
Equipment and vehicle use7
Other causes5
Arson/incendiarism4
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Natural3
Smoking3
Fireworks2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
8 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersBRATTON
6 September 2003Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named
3 September 1998Smoking1.0 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named
28 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.3 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters18 HUB
28 September 1999Debris and open burningunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named
24 September 1996Debris and open burningunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named
2 September 2012Smokingunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersMORGAN LANDING
19 September 1999Other causes1.0 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Clark County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 16 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Fly Creek DepositAluminumOccurrence
R B Muffet Brick and Tile CoClayPast Producer
Woodland PitStoneProducer
B and S Rock QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Woodland PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Hillis QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Lewis River PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Lewis River PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Unnamed OperationSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Clark County

Storms near this place

8 since 1999

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 1999LightningLa Center$15,000Lightning 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 2025Funnel CloudLa 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 2024Funnel CloudLa 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 2023Tornado (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 2008Thunderstorm WindLa Center-The wind toppled a small tree, which fell onto the roadway.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindLa Center-A gust of wind knocked power lines down.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindLa Center-Lots of tree debris reported on the highway.
May 2004Tornado (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.

Every storm recorded in Clark 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
West Pioneer2.3 miles16
Pine Grove2.8 miles14
Pioneer3.4 miles16
Highland4.3 miles14
Hayes4.8 miles14
Ridgefield5.0 miles16
Cathlapotle (historical)5.6 miles18
Lambert5.7 miles16

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 CenterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1506592The 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.