Wrightwood, California | |
|---|---|
 Downtown Wrightwood is dotted with many old resort cabins from the 1930s. | |
 Location inSan Bernardino County and the state ofCalifornia | |
  Wrightwood, California Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:34°21′39″N117°38′00″W / 34.36083°N 117.63333°W /34.36083; -117.63333[1] | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | San Bernardino |
| Area | |
• Total | 5.95 sq mi (15.42 km2) |
| • Land | 5.95 sq mi (15.41 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0039 sq mi (0.01 km2) 0.05% |
| Elevation | 6,208 ft (1,892 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 4,720 |
| • Density | 793/sq mi (306.2/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 92397 |
| Area codes | 442/760 |
| FIPS code | 06-86594 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2409630[1] |
Wrightwood is acensus-designated place inSan Bernardino County,California. It sits at an elevation of 6,208 feet (1,892 m). The population was 4,720 at the2020 census,[4] up from 4,525 at the2010 census.[5] Wrightwood is located 77 miles (124 km) northeast ofLos Angeles.[6] It is on thePacific Crest Trail.[7]
Located in a pine-covered valley in theSan Gabriel Mountains, the Wrightwood area was first developed as cattle ranches in the 19th century by Nathan and Truman Swarthout. Later, the main ranch, owned by Sumner Wright, was broken up into residential and commercial lots, and by the 1920s a community had taken root. Early ski enthusiasts discovered the north-facing slopes of the San Gabriels above the Swarthout Valley. Until 1937, the ski area, originally known as Big Pines, was part of a Los Angeles County park. AfterWorld War II, Big Pines opened their 1946–47 ski season with a new chairlift and the Sepp Benedikter Ski School (according to their ad in the February 1947 issue ofWestern Skiing magazine). Highways were built connecting to the major routes in the Cajon Pass, making Wrightwood accessible without serious mountain driving.
In 1934, on two separate occasions a black bear was shot and killed by a Wrightwood resident. J. Dale Gentry, chairman of the California Fish and Game Commission, applied pressure to file charges against the two men. One of the men, Clyde Steele, was found not guilty at trial; the charges were dropped against the other man.[8]
The former vacation community is now home to over 4,000 full-time residents.Serrano High School in the neighboring community ofPhelan opened in 1977; it also serves Wrightwood and the neighboring community ofPiñon Hills.
In August 2016, part of Wrightwood's population was evacuated as part of mandatory evacuations of over 82,000 people inSan Bernardino County due to theBlue Cut Fire.[9] In September 2020, theBobcat Fire caused evacuation warnings for the Wrightwood area as it raged across the San Gabriel Mountains. In September 2024, theBridge Fire caused the entire town to be evacuated.[10]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15 km2), 99.94% of it land and 0.06% of it water. The climate isMediterranean (Köppen:Csb) influenced by its highland position. Summers are vastly moderated by the cooling down of the air at the higher elevation compared to the hot plains to its north and theSan Bernardino Valley to the south, although share the similar dry features and a lack of summer thunderstorms. In winter, the Mediterranean tendencies of the more semi-arid lowland areas are exaggerated byorographic lift, causing precipitation comparable to areas much further north in California. However, due to the elevation, a lot of winter precipitation falls as snow. Even so, daytime highs year-round average above freezing, rendering snowpacks unstable and unreliable.
| Climate data for Wrightwood, California, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1997–2012 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 67 (19) | 67 (19) | 74 (23) | 79 (26) | 87 (31) | 91 (33) | 96 (36) | 93 (34) | 87 (31) | 80 (27) | 72 (22) | 67 (19) | 96 (36) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 47.6 (8.7) | 47.6 (8.7) | 54.3 (12.4) | 60.3 (15.7) | 69.1 (20.6) | 78.0 (25.6) | 83.3 (28.5) | 81.9 (27.7) | 75.0 (23.9) | 64.4 (18.0) | 54.8 (12.7) | 47.5 (8.6) | 63.7 (17.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 36.6 (2.6) | 36.4 (2.4) | 41.8 (5.4) | 46.1 (7.8) | 54.0 (12.2) | 61.2 (16.2) | 67.9 (19.9) | 66.7 (19.3) | 60.6 (15.9) | 50.5 (10.3) | 41.8 (5.4) | 36.0 (2.2) | 50.0 (10.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 25.6 (−3.6) | 25.3 (−3.7) | 29.3 (−1.5) | 32.0 (0.0) | 38.8 (3.8) | 44.3 (6.8) | 52.5 (11.4) | 51.4 (10.8) | 46.2 (7.9) | 36.7 (2.6) | 28.8 (−1.8) | 24.6 (−4.1) | 36.3 (2.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −2 (−19) | 8 (−13) | 7 (−14) | 14 (−10) | 25 (−4) | 29 (−2) | 36 (2) | 35 (2) | 29 (−2) | 19 (−7) | 9 (−13) | 6 (−14) | −2 (−19) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 4.37 (111) | 4.93 (125) | 1.85 (47) | 0.80 (20) | 0.79 (20) | 0.08 (2.0) | 1.06 (27) | 0.31 (7.9) | 0.38 (9.7) | 1.21 (31) | 1.14 (29) | 4.14 (105) | 21.06 (534.6) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 10.5 (27) | 24.8 (63) | 8.3 (21) | 7.2 (18) | 1.6 (4.1) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.5 (1.3) | 3.6 (9.1) | 5.3 (13) | 61.8 (156.5) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 6.0 | 8.0 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 5.3 | 43.8 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 3.0 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 17.8 |
| Source 1: NOAA[11] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[12] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 2,511 | — | |
| 1990 | 3,308 | 31.7% | |
| 2000 | 3,837 | 16.0% | |
| 2010 | 4,525 | 17.9% | |
| 2020 | 4,720 | 4.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[13] 1850–1870[14][15] 1880-1890[16] 1900[17] 1910[18] 1920[19] 1930[20] 1940[21] 1950[22] 1960[23] 1970[24] 1980[25] 1990[26]2000[27] 2010[28] | |||
Wrightwood Lake was first listed as acensus designated place in the1980 U.S. census.[25]
The2020 United States census reported that Wrightwood had a population of 4,720. The population density was 793.1 inhabitants per square mile (306.2/km2). The racial makeup of Wrightwood was 80.5%White, 0.6%African American, 1.0%Native American, 2.0%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 4.5% fromother races, and 11.3% from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.8% of the population.[4]
The whole population lived in households. There were 1,984 households, out of which 25.8% included children under the age of 18, 51.9% were married-couple households, 6.6% werecohabiting couple households, 21.5% had a female householder with no partner present, and 20.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 27.8% of households were one person, and 13.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.38.[4] There were 1,322families (66.6% of all households).[29]
The age distribution was 21.6% under the age of 18, 6.5% aged 18 to 24, 22.7% aged 25 to 44, 28.8% aged 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males.[4]
There were 2,664 housing units at an average density of 447.7 units per square mile (172.9 units/km2), of which 1,984 (74.5%) were occupied. Of these, 78.9% were owner-occupied, and 21.1% were occupied by renters.[4]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $78,496, and theper capita income was $52,949. About 8.2% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line.[30]
In theCalifornia State Legislature, Wrightwood is inthe 23rd senatorial district, represented byRepublican Suzette Martinez Valladares, and inthe 41st Assembly district, represented byDemocrat John Harabedian.[31]
In theUnited States House of Representatives, Wrightwood is inCalifornia's 28th congressional district, represented byDemocrat Judy Chu.[32]
Parks and wastewater in Wrightwood are maintained by the Wrightwood community service district since 2017.[33]
Public education in Wrightwood is managed bySnowline Joint Unified School District.[34] Students in Wrightwood attend the following schools:
TK-5 Wrightwood Elementary School
6-8 Pinon Mesa Middle School
9-12 Serrano High School
TK-12 Snowline Academy Homeschool
TK-8 The Heritage School (Parent School of Choice)
Snowline Adult School
Just west from Wrightwood sitsBig Pines, which hosts theMountain High Resort, a popular ski/snowboard resort consisting of Three Mountains.[35]
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