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Okanogan, Washington

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Okanogan census division. It lies in ZIP code area 98840. It stands on Salmon Creek. The Survey maps it on the Okanogan quadrangle. 2,379 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 840 feet above sea level.

Okanogan within Okanogan County

On record in Okanogan

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Okanogan fell from 2,552 to 2,379 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
20102,552
20202,379-173 (-7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 12 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

128 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 128 fires within 5 miles of Okanogan between 1992 and 2020, burning about 198,837 acres in total. 25 started naturally. 11 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined30
Debris and open burning26
Natural25
Equipment and vehicle use13
Arson/incendiarism11
Recreation and ceremony9
Fireworks7
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Other causes2
Smoking1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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 2009Natural7.0 acresColville AgencyCAMERON LAKE LOOP RD
6 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined189,923 acresColville AgencyCOLD SPRINGS
4 September 2013Natural2.2 acresColville AgencyCOYOTE
4 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersSPRING COULEE CAR WRECK
4 September 2004Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreColville AgencySTEEL HOUS
30 September 2009Arson/incendiarismunder an acreColville AgencyOMAK LAKE CAMERON LA
27 September 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined27 acresColville AgencyCAMERON LO
2 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersLEADER SURPRISE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Okanogan County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 19 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Okanogan: 9 occurrences, 5 unknowns, 3 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Copper, Tungsten, Garnet. 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
Buzzard LakePeatOccurrenceSedimentary
Cameron LakeBromineOccurrence
Cameron LakeSaltOccurrence
Cooper AntimonyAntimony, Zinc, LeadUnknown
Geo Thompson FarmGraphiteOccurrence
MonseTungsten, GarnetOccurrenceGarnet, Scheelite
OkanoganChromium, PlatinumOccurrenceUnknown
OkanoganLimestone, GeneralOccurrenceLimestone
ShermanLead, Zinc, Silver, GoldUnknown
Sherman ClaimsLead, Zinc, Silver, Gold, CopperOccurrenceReplacement

Every working recorded in Okanogan County

Storms near this place

13 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Okanogan in 13 storm reports between 2000 and 2023: 5 thunderstorm wind, 4 flood, 2 wildfire, 2 hail. The reports record 2 injuries. 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 2001WildfireOkanogan2 hurt, $900,000A weather disturbance moved across eastern Washington early on the morning of August 12, producing hundreds of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes across the region. The "Virginia Lake Complex" of fires resulted and quickly spread out of control. During the first day of the fire, nine structures burned, and two firefighters had to deploy emergency shelters. This complex of fires burned for the rest of August and was contained on September 2 after burning 74,109 acres of land.
July 2003WildfireOkanogan$1,000,000A human caused fire on the north edge of the town of Okanogan during very dry summer conditions was fanned by estimated 35 mph wind gusts. The fire quickly spread to 300 acres in size and engulfed a residential subdivision. Six houses were destroyed and several others damaged. The blaze was finally brought under control by 125 firefighters, 45 engines and tenders as well as an airborne tanker and two helicopters.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindOkanogan$375,000Gust front caused roof to blow off of airplane hangar, destroyed a vintage airplane, took out power, and started a small power line fire. Other reports in the county included a carport roof blown off in Oroville, two foot diameter tree blown down, and downed power lines.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindOkanogan$125,000A mainly dry thunderstorm moved northeast through Okanogan County. As the storm reached the Omak/Okanogan area, the storm caused a 67 mph wind gust at a location 7 miles northwest of Okanogan at 740 PM PDT. The storm then brought a 77 mph wind gust 4 miles southeast of Omak at 745 PM PDT. The ASOS at the Omak Airport measured a peak wind gust to 53 mph, reducing the visibility to 1 3/4 miles in blowing dust for a time. In Omak, numerous large trees were blown onto roads, blocking traffic in spots. Five trees were blown into power lines. One tree branch that fell into a power line on Johnson Creek Road sent out sparks and touched off a blaze that destroyed a house and garage. At a gas station on Omak Avenue, the wind peeled off the roof and picked up an air conditioning unit. Three trees fell on a single home on Middle Lane Road. One-third of a triple-wide home being set up on Spring Coulee Road was flipped over. A fence was blown over in Okanogan. Seven 40-50 foot pine trees were blown down. Several orchards in the area also suffered damage.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindOkanogan$25,000Strong winds associated with outflow from a cluster of thunderstorms was thought to be responsible for damaging a roof on a resident house. The roof was picked up on the east side of the house and completely flipped over to the west side of the property, damaging two cars parked next to the home. The roof was actually a second roof on top of an old one. Showers the following week resulted in damage to the ceiling, drywall, and the carpet.
May 2018FloodOkanogan$3,000On May 8th Conconully Lake reached the spillway level on the Conconully Dam due to heavy Spring runoff from the upper reaches of the Salmon River. The increased flow caused flooding along the river below the dam and resulted in the flooding and subsequent closure of Salmon Creek Road between Spring Coulee Road and Danker Cutoff Road.
June 2011FloodOkanogan$2,000A combination of a log jam on the Oak Street bridge and washout of a dike at Pine Street in the city of Okanogan resulted in seepage of the Okanogan River into a few basements of homes along Second Avenue. Damage costs were estimated.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindOkanogan$500A spotter reported a few trees were blown down due to thunderstorm winds. Measured wind gusts of 38 mph were reported. The reported observer location was 8 miles northwest of Okanogan, WA.
May 2015HailOkanogan-A trained spotter reported 0.75 inch hail eight miles northwest of Okanogan, WA.
May 2011FloodOkanogan-On May 22nd, Salmon Creek Road was closed between Spring Coulee Road and Danker Cut-Off Road due to water and debris flowing over the roadway from Salmon Creek. A combination of high spring runoff and log jams in the creek was responsible for the flooding. The road was later reopened but closed on and off for the next few weeks.
June 2011FloodOkanogan-Salmon Creek Road was closed June 1st between Spring Coulee and Danker Cutoff roads due to flooding of the Salmon Creek.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindOkanogan-Half-inch diameter hail.
July 2010HailOkanogan-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Okanogan 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
Epley (historical)4.4 miles12
Omak4.5 miles12
Chillowist4.9 miles12
Brown Lake8.2 miles11
Malott8.5 miles12
Cherokee8.7 miles9
Loop Loop (historical)9.3 miles11
North Omak9.4 miles9

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 OkanoganAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1511988The 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 1531489. 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.