Westley is a

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 ...

(CDP) in Stanislaus County, California. The population was 603 at the 2010 census, down from 747 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The Oxford Tire Pile

Oxford Energy had a major stake in a major local scrap tire pile operation. It was the largest single collection of waste tires on the west coast, when it mostly burnt down in 1997. Filbin had begun trucking used tires into Ed's Tire Disposal even before construction of

I-5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

, the road being built between 1956 and 1979, depending on location. Oxford Energy had begun dumping near Westley in various piles since the 1950s. Oxford Energy officials heard about it causing an

eyesore An eyesore is something that is largely considered to look unpleasant or ugly. Its technical usage is as an alternative perspective to the notion of landmark. Common examples include dilapidated buildings, graffiti, litter, polluted areas, and e ...

and environmental blight in 1984 and approached both Filbin and the county, proposing the tire-to-energy project, but it was turned down on environmental grounds. It was under a 24 hour security guarding regime in 1987. About 10,000-20,000 tires were being dumped there each day during 1987. In 1997, when dump had grown to about 6,000,000 tires during 1997 the state stepped in under a special local legislative mandate to dispose of them. Shortly after the local photographer, Mr Burtynsky, had photographed Oxford Pile #8 during 1997, a

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...

strike in the facility started a fire in the old tire pile that took weeks to extinguish.

Geography

Westley is located at (37.548255, -121.201264). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. Westley lies at the base of the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley are ...

, in the vicinity of

Ingram Creek Ingram Creek, originally Arroyo de la Suerte, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed March 11, 2011 tributary of the San Joaquin River in Stanislaus County, in the San Joaqu ...

. Somewhat nearby is the

San Joaquin Fault The San Joaquin Fault is a seismically active geological structure in the California Central Valley. East of the San Joaquin fault there is a flow pattern of alluvium that has been reported to be a mud flow. This flow pattern was deposited in the ...

. East of the San Joaquin Fault there is a flow pattern of

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...

reported as a mud flow. This flow pattern was deposited in the early

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

period or the late

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

Demographics

Historic population

*2010-2014: 853, +14.19% since 2000. *2010: 603, -19.3% since 2000.

2010

At the 2010 census Westley had a population of 603. The population density was . The racial makeup of Westley was 212 (35.2%) White, 0 (0.0%) African American, 5 (0.8%) Native American, 1 (0.2%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 368 (61.0%) from other races, and 17 (2.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 579 people (96.0%). The census reported that 601 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, 2 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 149 households, 99 (66.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 96 (64.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 25 (16.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 12 (8.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 8 (5.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 14 households (9.4%) were one person and 7 (4.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 4.03. There were 133 families (89.3% of households); the average family size was 4.32. The age distribution was 242 people (40.1%) under the age of 18, 51 people (8.5%) aged 18 to 24, 159 people (26.4%) aged 25 to 44, 111 people (18.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 40 people (6.6%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 25.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males. There were 157 housing units at an average density of 90.1 per square mile, of the occupied units 32 (21.5%) were owner-occupied and 117 (78.5%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%. 102 people (16.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 499 people (82.8%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 747 people, 139 households, and 128 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 151 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the CDP was 39.36% White, 1.07% African American, 2.41% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.27% Pacific Islander, 53.82% from other races, and 2.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 83.94%. Of the 139 households 67.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.3% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 7.2% were non-families. 7.2% of households were one person and 3.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.38 and the average family size was 4.54. The age distribution was 36.8% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 3.5% 65 or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 126.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 137.2 males. The median household income was $20,417 and the median family income was $21,458. Males had a median income of $16,691 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $6,137. About 42.6% of families and 64.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 68.3% of those under age 18 and 27.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In the California State Legislature, Westley is in , and . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Westley is in .

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Stanislaus County, California Census-designated places in California