Big Creek (Big Creek Flats in the 1870s; Manzanita Park in 1902; until 1926, Cascada) is a small

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

Fresno County, California Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Ca ...

, located in the Sierra Nevada on the north bank of Big Creek. It lies at an elevation of above sea level. Its last population count was 175. The ZIP code is 93605, and the community is inside

area code 559 Area code 559 is a California telephone area code that was split from area code 209 on November 14, 1998. It covers the central San Joaquin Valley in central California, serving the counties of Fresno, Madera, Kings, and Tulare—an area large ...

History

Big Creek was built at the site of the first

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

and

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an el ...

of Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, one of the most extensive in the world. Other than the private helipad owned by Southern California Edison, the only way in or out of the town is Big Creek Road, off of State Route 168. The dam has a walkway across it to the south bank, but access is limited to employees of SCE and those residents who have been given a key. Its major industries are

electric power generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery (transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its storag ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

. There is

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

and water recreation in the summer and

snow skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

in the winter. Huntington Lake is to the northeast and

Shaver Lake Shaver Lake is an artificial lake on Stevenson Creek, in the Sierra National Forest of Fresno County, California. At elevation , several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edis ...

is to the south. China Peak is only about away. Though Big Creek's only school is an elementary, it teaches kindergarten through 8th grade. The

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...

pipes for the original two units at Big Creek Power Houses One and Two, built 1912–13, were purchased from the Krupp Works in Germany because at that time that manufacturer produced steel pipes of the tensile strength needed to contain the very high water pressures in the pipes in the drop down to Power House One. All post-World War One penstock pipes were manufactured in the United States. The first post office opened at Big Creek in 1912. Half the town's homes were destroyed by the 2020 Creek Fire.

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

reported that Big Creek had a population of 175. The population density was . The racial makeup of Big Creek was 158 (90.3%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 1 (0.6%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1 (0.6%) Native American, 5 (2.9%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3 (1.7%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 7 (4.0%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 27 persons (15.4%). The Census reported that 175 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 63 households, out of which 26 (41.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 43 (68.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1 (1.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3 (4.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 4 (6.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2 (3.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 12 households (19.0%) were made up of individuals, and 2 (3.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78. There were 47

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

(74.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.21. The population was spread out, with 60 people (34.3%) under the age of 18, 4 people (2.3%) aged 18 to 24, 37 people (21.1%) aged 25 to 44, 58 people (33.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 16 people (9.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.1 males. There were 117 housing units at an average density of , of which 63 were occupied, of which 22 (34.9%) were owner-occupied, and 41 (65.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 31.1%. 47 people (26.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 128 people (73.1%) lived in rental housing units.

References

External links

Big Creek Demographics

The Big Creek Project

History

Demographics

References

External links

See also