Anderson Springs, California

Anderson Springs
Unincorporated community
Anderson Springs is located in California
Anderson Springs
Anderson Springs
Location in California
Anderson Springs is located in the United States
Anderson Springs
Anderson Springs
Anderson Springs (the United States)
Coordinates: 38°46′30″N 122°41′35″W / 38.77500°N 122.69306°W / 38.77500; -122.69306
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyLake County
Elevation
[1]
1,411 ft (430 m)

Anderson Springs is an unincorporated community in Lake County, California.[2] It is located at an elevation of 1411 feet (430 m).[1]

Location

The community is located about 4 miles north of Middletown,[3] in southwestern Lake County, 24 miles (39 km) from Calistoga. It lays at 1,525 feet (465 m) above sea level.[4]

According to the Anderson Valley Homeowners Association, the permanent population in 2004 was 403, with a seasonal population high of 986.[5]

History

Anderson Springs were discovered in 1873, when the Anderson family took possession.[4] They became a popular resort.[6] As of 1914 they were owned by Miss Barbara Anderson, who had a hotel that could accommodate more than 100 people. Eight of the springs were in active use. Cold Sulphur was below the hotel and had a temperature of 63 °F (17 °C). The others were mostly above the hotel: Iron, 103 °F (39 °C); Sour, 65 °F (18 °C); Bellmer, 65 °F (18 °C); Magnesia (or Father Joseph), 70 °F (21 °C); Hot Sulphur and Iron, 145 °F (63 °C); Iron and Magnesia, 103 °F (39 °C); Steam Bath, 138 °F (59 °C). A considerable amount of hydrogen sulfide gas escapes from the last two.[4]

2015 Valley Fire

In September 2015, Anderson Springs was devastated in the Valley Fire, which caused two fatalities and destroyed 90% of the town's homes, leaving most community members homeless. More than 1,000 people were living in shelters.[7][8]

A video that was widely disseminated on the internet shows a man and his family escaping the area in his car, with fires burning on either side of the road.[9][10] The man had been driving a diesel van at the head of his family's 3-car convoy to escape from a house built in the 1930s by his great-grandfather.[11] His mother, Sally Wolf, part of the escape party, said that they had never received the evacuation order, and had not seen flames from their house until "we rounded one last corner and then it was completely engulfed in flames and there was nothing we could do".[11]

The community has started to organize cleanup and rebuild soon after the fire and numerous fundraisers have been created on platforms like GoFundMe to help finance the works.

References

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Anderson Springs, California
  2. ^ Waring 1915, p. 89.
  3. ^ Homepage of Anderson Springs Homeowners Association (accessed 14 Sep 2015)
  4. ^ a b c Hamilton 1915, p. 212.
  5. ^ Anderson Valley Homeowners Association (2004). Welcome to Anderson Springs Archived September 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine (accessed 14 Sep 2015)
  6. ^ South Lake County History, Anderson Springs (accessed 14 Sep 2015)
  7. ^ Anderson Springs Community Recovery (17 September 2015) Recovers.org
  8. ^ Sangree, Hudson (October 5, 2015). "A few live on amid ashes of Valley fire community of Anderson Springs". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  9. ^ Anonymous (September 14, 2015). "Raw video: Valley fire escape from Anderson Springs". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  10. ^ Ron Dicker (14 Sep 2015). Driver's Escape From Wildfire Is A Ride Through Hell Huffington Post (accessed 14 September 2015)
  11. ^ a b Brait, Ellen (September 18, 2015). "'We had to get out': mother talks about son's viral California wildfire video". The Guardian. Retrieved September 18, 2015.

Sources