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Oroville, Washington

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1902 and the latest in 2001. It stands in the Oroville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 98844. It stands on Tonasket Creek. The Survey maps it on the Oroville quadrangle. 1,795 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 938 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Oroville within Okanogan County

On record in Oroville

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

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 15 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

85 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 85 fires within 5 miles of Oroville between 1992 and 2020, burning about 12,663 acres in total. 46 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
Natural46
Debris and open burning14
Missing data/not specified/undetermined6
Recreation and ceremony5
Fireworks5
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Other causes3
Smoking1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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 2004Naturalunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersGOLD RUSH
8 September 1997Other causesunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named
7 September 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersNINE MILE CREEK
6 September 2013Naturalunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersROCK LAKE STRIKE
16 September 2003Naturalunder an acreOkanogan-Wenatchee National ForestMCDONALD
10 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersOROVILLE SIDE
9 August 2013Natural1.2 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersBORDER STRIKE
9 August 2008Naturalunder an acreOkanogan-Wenatchee National ForestMCDONALD

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Okanogan County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 70 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 70 workings within 5 miles of Oroville: 21 past producers, 17 occurrences, 16 unknowns, 8 producers. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, Copper, Silver. 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
49th ParallelCopper, Gold, Tungsten, MolybdenumPast ProducerBornite, Chalcopyrite, Pyrite, Scheelite
49th ParallelCopper, Gold, TungstenOccurrenceBornite, Chalcopyrite, Scheelite
49th Parallel ClaimsGold, Tungsten, CopperProspectVein
49th Parallel, Ok CopperMolybdenum, Copper, Silver, TungstenOccurrenceChalcopyrite, Molybdenite, Scheelite
Adams, MoncosilgoMolybdenum, CopperOccurrenceVein
Bitter LakeBromineProspectEpsomite
Bitter LakeSaltPast Producer
Black WarriorGold, Silver, Lead, CopperUnknown
Finella ClaimsIron, Silver, GoldOccurrenceMagnetite
Golden ChariotSilver, Copper, Gold, Tungsten, MolybdenumPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Molybdenite, Scheelite

Every working recorded in Okanogan County

Storms near this place

18 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oroville in 18 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 5 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 4 flood, 2 flash flood. The reports record 1 death. 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
July 2001Flash FloodOroville1 killed, $1,500,000no account filed
May 2018FloodOroville$12,000,000The USGS River Gage on the Okanogan River at Tonasket recorded a rise above the Flood Stage of 15.0 feet at 4:45 AM PST on May 5th. The river continued to rise, passing through the Moderate Flood Stage of 17.0 Feet at 11:45 PM on May 7th and through the Major Flood Stage of 18.0 feet at 9:15 AM on May 9th. The river crested twice, the first and highest crest of 19.7 feet at 4:30 PM PST on May 11th and the second crest of 19.3 feet at 10:30 AM on May 18th. The river then receded, passing below Major Flood Stage at 9:30 PM on May 20th and below the Moderate Flood Stage at noon PST on May 22nd. The river continued to slowly recede finally passing below the Flood Stage at 2:30 AM on May 27th.
July 2000WildfireOroville$3,300,000The "Rocky Hull" wildfire, which was sparked by lightning several days earlier and fanned by gusty winds, destroyed thirty-three homes in the Mount Hull area. One man suffered a heart attack and died while trying to, according to a newspaper article, "help his fellow residents" against the fire. The indicated cost of this fire only reflects property damage and does not include the roughly $4 million price tag of fighting the fire. The fire burned 9,375 acres.
June 2017FloodOroville$5,000The Okanogan River Gage at Tonasket recorded a rise above the Flood Stage of 15.0 feet at 7:30 AM PST on May 23rd. The river continued to flood into the first week of June, achieving and cresting at the Moderate Flood Stage of 17.0 feet from 7:30 PM to 10:15 PM on June 1st. The river slowly dropped during the first week of June and passed below the Flood Stage at 10:15 PM PST on June 5th.
May 2017FloodOroville$3,000The Okanogan River Gage at Tonasket recorded a rise above the Flood Stage of 15.0 feet at 7:30 AM PST on May 23rd. The river crested multiple times in Minor Flood around 16.5 feet and continued to flood into the month of June.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindOroville$2,500Emergency Manager relays report that multiple trees are down in Oroville with damage to roof on at least one home. Oroville RAWS reported a gust of 55 MPH.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindOroville$2,000The Oroville RAWS measured winds sustained at 37 mph with a gust to 61 mph between 1240 and 1340 LST. The wind gust was associated with outflow from a decaying shower. No lightning was observed with the convective shower. The Oroville COOP reported damage to the power station.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindOroville$500Large tree downed near Oroville High School. Oroville RAWS reported a gust of 55 MPH.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindOroville-The Oroville RAWS station reported west winds of 17 mph sustained with a gust of 61 mph as a thunderstorm passed through during the morning of June 25th.
February 2015Debris FlowOroville-Law Enforcement reported a couple of minor mud slides north of Oroville, WA in the steep terrain. Roads were quickly cleared with no road closures reported.
May 2013FloodOroville-A National Weather Service employee surveyed the Okanogan River near Tonasket and found pasture fields, and, to a lesser extent, agricultural fields flooded during peak flow.
June 1998Heavy RainOroville-1 inch of rain in less than 1 hour
August 1997Thunderstorm WindOroville-61 mph gust reported at automatic weather station ...elev 1303 ft
July 2008HailOroville-no account filed
July 2006HailOroville-no account filed
July 2006HailOroville-no account filed
July 2006HailOroville-no account filed
July 2006Flash FloodOroville-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
Cordell5.2 miles13
Enterprise9.5 miles11
Ellisforde10.5 miles13
Nighthawk11.1 miles11
Molson12.8 miles12
Loomis13.3 miles11
Havillah14.5 miles12
Chopaka15.9 miles11

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 OrovilleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1017586The 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 1524077. 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.