Shelter Valley, California

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Shelter Valley
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Shelter Valley
Location within the state of California
Coordinates: 33°04′39″N116°26′18″W / 33.07750°N 116.43833°W / 33.07750; -116.43833 Coordinates: 33°04′39″N116°26′18″W / 33.07750°N 116.43833°W / 33.07750; -116.43833
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of California.svg  California
County Flag of San Diego County, California.png San Diego
Elevation
[1]
2,320 ft (707 m)
Population
  Total320
Time zone UTC-8 (Pacific)
  Summer (DST) UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes
92036
Area codes 442/760
GNIS feature ID 2664910

Shelter Valley is a community in San Diego County in the U.S. state of California. The town is located along County Route S2, two miles south of its intersection with State Route 78 (known as Scissors Crossing) and 12 miles east of Julian. It lies within the boundaries of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and the geologic feature known as Earthquake Valley. The Pacific Crest Trail passes along the northern boundary of the community.

Contents

The Anza Borrego Desert State Park acquired property to the north of the community in 1998, making Shelter Valley the second community (the first being nearby Borrego Springs) to be entirely surrounded by the park. [2] The Sentenac Canyon and Cienega [3] to the east of Scissors crossing were acquired in 1998. The state purchased parts of Rancho San Felipe to the west of Shelter Valley in 2004 [4] that became part of the San Felipe Valley Wild Life Area and increased the contiguous extent of public lands surrounding the hamlet. In less than one year (2011 and 2012), multiple wildfires threatened the small community. [5] [6] [7] The Banner Fire exited state park lands and entered the edge of the community, while the Vallecito Lightning Complex burned into the San Felipe Valley (connecting valley to the north of Earthquake Valley) after menacing the nearby town of Ranchita. All were successfully contained by CAL FIRE and the Shelter Valley Volunteer Fire Dept through the San Diego County Fire Authority and no structures were lost. Improvements to the Shelter Valley fire station were completed in 2012 to provide better quarters for the volunteers that provide protection for the surrounding region. [8]

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Earthquake Valley is a desert valley east of Julian, California, which contains parts of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It is the location of the Shelter Valley Ranchos subdivision, which is also known as the unincorporated community of Shelter Valley. The official USGS place name for the geologic feature in which Shelter Valley is situated is "Earthquake Valley", and the 1959 USGS Topographic map makes no reference to Shelter Valley. The name of the unincorporated community Shelter Valley is typically used both locally and by the media to refer generally to the geological feature of Earthquake Valley, and it is common for both names to be referen-8-1962-NO.4968" /> establishment of the subdivision. Author, poet, artist and primitivist Marshal South lived in and wrote about the general area, in a series of articles for Desert Magazine between 1941 and 1948. A number of notable trails pass through the valley, including the Pacific Crest Trail, the California Riding and Hiking Trail, and the Southern Emigrant Trail.

San Felipe Valley, California valley in California, United States of America

San Felipe Valley is an inland valley of the Peninsular Ranges, located in eastern San Diego County, California. Most of the valley is protected within the San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area.

Scissors Crossing, California human settlement in United States of America

Scissors Crossing is a place name in San Diego County, California, in the United States. It is a wrong-way concurrency junction where State Route 78 intersects with County Route S2, and is a notable point on the Pacific Crest Trail. The unincorporated community of Shelter Valley lies 2 mi (3.2 km) to the south of Scissors Crossing along County Road S2.

Carrizo Badlands

The Carrizo Badlands are a landform of badlands that lie within Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in eastern San Diego County, and in the Carrizo Impact Area in western Imperial County, in southern California.

San Felipe Creek is a stream in Imperial and San Diego Counties of California. It arises in the Volcan Mountains of San Diego County 33°11′57″N116°37′35″W, and runs eastward, gathering the waters of most of the eastern slope of the mountains and desert of the county before it empties into the Salton Sea. It is probably the last remaining perennial natural desert stream in the Colorado Desert region. In 1974, the San Felipe Creek Area was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

Tomahawk Fire

The Tomahawk Fire was the second largest wildfire of the May 2014 San Diego County wildfires, behind the Pulgas Fire. The fire, which started on May 14 around 9:45 AM, on the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Detachment Fallbrook, scorched 5,367 acres (21.72 km2). The Fallbrook Naval Weapons Station is on the eastern side of, and provides an entry point to, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and is adjacent to the community of Fallbrook. Evacuation orders were issued for several schools and housing areas, as well as the Fallbrook Naval Weapons Station and the closed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. By 8 PM PDT on May 14, the Tomahawk Fire had reached a size of 6,000 acres (2,400 ha). On May 16, the fire had burned 6,300 acres (2,500 ha), and it was 23% contained. By May 17, it had burned 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) and was 65% contained. During the evening of May 18, the fire was reported to be 100% contained.

Borrego Valley Groundwater Basin, located in the very southern region of California, is one of the driest basins in the state. With climate change predicted to have strong effects into foreseeable future, the region is viewed with a skepticism in the sustainable use of water at current rates of consumption. Both natural and man-made geographic divisions within this basin allow for a closer inspection of the various management techniques implemented throughout the years, and provide a basis for what may be pursued for an uncertain future.

References

  1. "Shelter Valley Volunteer Fire Department". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  2. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Map, 2003, California State Parks, "Digitally created with current GIS data. Cartography L.Louise Jee, Design Brian Cahill, Editorial Joanie Stadtherr Cahill & Bettina Townsend, Advisor Mark Jorgense", http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/638/files/ABDSPmap.pdf
  3. Press Release, Anza-Borrego park acquires wetland, September 1998, Anza-Borrego Foundation, P.O. Box 2001, Borrego Springs, CA 92004, http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0998/et0998s2.html
  4. Land Management Plan for the San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area, California Department of Fish and Game, South Coast Region, Wildlife, Fisheries, and Lands Program, 4949 Viewridge Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123, Chapter 3, http://www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/mgmtplans/sfvwa/
  5. CAL FIRE incidents page for 2011 Great Fire, http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_id=602
  6. CAL FIRE incidents page for 2012 Banner Fire, http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_id=617
  7. CAL FIRE incidents page for 2012 Vallecito Lightning Complex, http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_id=709
  8. "Shelter Valley gets an improved fire station" San Diego Union Tribune (original North County Times, website merged with UT after acquisition), November 16, 2012 10:59, J. Harry Jones, http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/Nov/16/shelter-valley-gets-improved-fire-station/