Berry Creek, California

Berry Creek
Census-designated place
Location of Berry Creek in Butte County, California.
Berry Creek Location in Northern California
Coordinates: 39°38′43″N 121°24′12″W
Country	United States
State	California
Butte County	Butte County
Area
• Total	57.18 sq mi (148.09 km2)
• Land	57.12 sq mi (147.94 km2)
• Water	0.06 sq mi (0.15 km2)  0.10%
Elevation	2,000 ft (608 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,637
• Density	28.66/sq mi (11.07/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	95916
Area code	530
GNIS feature IDs	1658040, 2612472

Berry Creek (formerly, Berry Valley) is a census-designated place about 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Oroville, California in hilly terrain at 2,000 feet (610 m) above mean sea level. The community is located along the Oroville-Quincy Highway on the shore of Madrone Lake. The community is home to Berry Creek Elementary School (K-8), 2 small mountain churches, 1 mini mart w/ gas, 1 small community park. Berry Creek is home to the annual Berry Festival which is held during August.

Berry Creek is inside Area code 530 and wired phone numbers follow the format (530) 589-xxxx. The community's ZIP code is 95916, and is shared with the community of Brush Creek (which is about 4 mi (6.4 km) east on Oroville-Quincy Highway). The population was 525 in 2012.

There is a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection fire station at an area called Harts Mill just south of the community. This is a historic name for a community once located at 39°37′25″N 121°26′08″W. Harts Mill was probably a mining community named for a stamp mill. The USGS lists a variant name of Virginia Mill for the area. The CDF Fire Dept is located in Berry Creek approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) past the U.S. Post Office on Hwy 162 (Nearest cross street: Berry Creek Rd/Bloomer Hill Rd). There are two main mountains in Berry Creek to distinguish areas. Bloomer Hill (mountain nearest the Post Office) and Bald Rock mountain (mini mart and community park). The Berry Festival is always held on Bald Rock mountain.

Berry Creek was mostly destroyed by the Bear Fire on September 9, 2020.

History

Berry Creek's first post office was established in 1875 being transferred from Oak Arbor; it changed locations several times before being closed in 1912. It was re-established in 1913, closed again in 1926, and re-opened in 1927.

In November 2018, the Camp Fire, a major wildfire that destroyed Paradise and Concow, threatened all of Berry Creek. Wooded areas of Berry Creek were burnt and some structures were destroyed. Most of Berry Creek was evacuated for two weeks from November 10–24.

On the evening of September 9, 2020, the Bear Fire reached the edge of town at 10 PM PDT and burned nearly all the structures in Berry Creek to the ground, destroying Berry Creek. 14 people were killed in the town.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2020	1,637		—
U.S. Decennial Census 2010

Berry Creek first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. Census.

The 2020 United States census reported that Berry Creek had a population of 1,637. The population density was 28.7 inhabitants per square mile (11.1/km²). The racial makeup of Berry Creek was 78.7% White, 1.0% African American, 4.6% Native American, 2.9% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.4% from other races, and 10.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.1% of the population.

There were 734 households, out of which 16.6% included children under the age of 18, 40.7% were married-couple households, 8.7% were cohabiting couple households, 19.9% had a female householder with no partner present, and 30.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 30.8% of households were one person, and 14.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.23. There were 433 families (59.0% of all households).

The age distribution was 13.2% under the age of 18, 4.6% aged 18 to 24, 20.4% aged 25 to 44, 32.4% aged 45 to 64, and 29.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 123.6 males.

There were 974 housing units at an average density of 17.1 units per square mile (6.6 units/km²), of which 734 (75.4%) were occupied. Of these, 79.0% were owner-occupied, and 21.0% were occupied by renters.

Sources

• US Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics.
• US Geological Survey, National Geographic Names Database.
• US Department of Commerce, miscellaneous records derived from public data sets used to determine geographic attributes like area code and ZIP code.
• Map: Berry Creek, California, 7.5 minute quadrangle, 1994, US Geological Survey.
• US Census Bureau, 2000 census statistical area records, (mostly used for data matching against other sources).
• web site of US Senator Barbara Boxer