# Pollock Pines, California

Pollock Pines is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Dorado County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Pollock Pines lies at an elevation of 3,980 feet (1,210 m) in the Sierra Nevada. The population was 7,112 at the 2020 census, up from 6,871 at the 2010 census.

## Geography

Pollock Pines receives annual snowfall between 6 inches (150 mm) and 6 feet (1.8 m). The town sits on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.0 square miles (21 km$^2$), over 99% of it land.
For the 2000 census, the CDP had a total area of 5.8 square miles (15 km$^2$), all of it land.
The area encompassing Pollock Pines is in a heavily timbered mountain region situated along the ridgetop on the south side of the South Fork of the American River. It is considered a "very high fire hazard severity zone", although it received grants from the state's cap and trade carbon trading program to trim vegetation on the ridgeline south of Highway 50.
It is approximately 13 miles (21 km) east of Placerville and 58 miles (93 km) east of Sacramento on U.S. Highway 50.

### Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Pollock Pines has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.
Climate data for Pollock Pines, California :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 73 (23) | 78 (26) | 82 (28) | 90 (32) | 95 (35) | 100 (38) | 103 (39) | 105 (41) | 103 (39) | 97 (36) | 84 (29) | 80 (27) | 105 (41) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 50.6 (10.3) | 49.9 (9.9) | 54.7 (12.6) | 60.3 (15.7) | 69.5 (20.8) | 80.0 (26.7) | 88.7 (31.5) | 88.5 (31.4) | 82.0 (27.8) | 70.7 (21.5) | 56.5 (13.6) | 49.8 (9.9) | 66.8 (19.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 34.3 (1.3) | 34.0 (1.1) | 35.5 (1.9) | 38.4 (3.6) | 45.0 (7.2) | 53.0 (11.7) | 60.3 (15.7) | 60.3 (15.7) | 56.2 (13.4) | 47.7 (8.7) | 39.6 (4.2) | 34.4 (1.3) | 44.9 (7.2) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 10 (−12) | 12 (−11) | 14 (−10) | 18 (−8) | 27 (−3) | 34 (1) | 41 (5) | 40 (4) | 33 (1) | 22 (−6) | 12 (−11) | 5 (−15) | 5 (−15) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 9.27 (235) | 7.96 (202) | 7.94 (202) | 4.50 (114) | 3.10 (79) | 0.70 (18) | 0.08 (2.0) | 0.10 (2.5) | 0.40 (10) | 2.71 (69) | 4.52 (115) | 7.30 (185) | 48.58 (1,233.5) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 15.4 (39) | 13.6 (35) | 13.6 (35) | 7.1 (18) | 0.6 (1.5) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 2.4 (6.1) | 10.7 (27) | 63.4 (161.6) |
| Source: NOAA ||||||||||||||

## History

One of the original Pony Express stations, Twelve Mile House, was located in Pollock Pines. The location was covered by the restaurant Sportsman's Hall. The "Hall", originally opened in 1852 by John and James Blair, who had immigrated from Scotland, still operates today. It is the site of California Registered Historical Landmark #704, which reads: "This was the site of Sportsman's Hall, also known as Twelve-Mile House, the hotel operated in the latter 1850s and 1860s by John and James Blair. A stopping place for stages and teams of the Comstock, it became a relay station of the Central Overland Pony Express. Here, at 7:40 A.M., April 4, 1860, pony rider William (Sam) Hamilton riding in from Placerville, handed the express mail to Warren Upson, who, two minutes later, sped on his way eastward."
Pollock Pines was primarily a lumber community. The name stems from an early land developer, Hiram Robert (H.R.) Pollock, who arrived with his wife Anna and son Claude Earl around 1909. A lumberman by trade, he borrowed money and built a saw mill. When the mill was destroyed by fire in the early 1930s, Hiram and Anna Pollock started selling lots in a subdivision they created out of a piece of land that lay along the ridge, on both sides of Cedar Grove School, and thus gave the town its name.
The Pollock Pines Post Office was established on Apr. 28, 1936, at what is currently 6401A Pony Express Trail, Pollock Pines (originally Hwy 50) with Mrs. Alice P. Grout serving as the first postmaster. The post office was later relocated, and now operates at 2669 Sanders Dr.
The first Pollock Pines store was built on the current location (6401 Pony Express Trail) in the 1930s by Newt Grout. The building included a grocery store, one gas pump, a post office, and a home upstairs. The restaurant "Frenchy's" was run next door by Mr. and Mrs. Ted Lang. They bought the liquor license of the Lucky Dime and added a bar. In 1943, the restaurant was renamed to "50 Grand" for its proximity to U.S. Highway 50. It burned down in 1983, operated down the road for one year, then reopened in 1984 back in its original location. The restaurant has been in continual operation as 50 Grand since the rebranding, celebrating its 80th anniversary in November 2023.
In 2014 the King Fire burned 97,717 acres (39,545 ha) in the Eldorado National Forest and on private land, destroying 80 structures, including residences and outbuildings near Pollock Pines. The cause of the fire, which was started September 13 and was extinguished October 9, was determined to be arson. The fire threatened thousands of homes as well as reservoirs that provide water and electricity to portions of California. The fire and the post-burn area were extensively studied by NASA's wildfires program which collected data on pre-burn forest conditions, fuel moisture, fire behavior, burned area and severity, post-fire forest structure, erosion, re-vegetation, and targeted mitigation for the fire science and management communities.
The Caldor Fire started on August 14, 2021, near Little Mountain, south of Pollock Pines in El Dorado County, about two miles east of Omo Ranch and four miles south of Grizzly Flats. It was a large wildfire that burned 221,835 acres (89,773 hectares) in the Eldorado National Forest and other areas of the Sierra Nevada in El Dorado, Amador, and Alpine County, California, in the United States during the 2021 California wildfire season. It was fully contained on Thursday, October 21, 2021. The Caldor Fire destroyed 1,005 structures and damaged 81 more, primarily in the U.S. Highway 50 corridor.

## Demographics
### 2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Pollock Pines had a population of 6,871. The population density was 863.2 inhabitants per square mile (333.3/km$^2$). The racial makeup of Pollock Pines was 6,195 (90.2%) White, 18 (0.3%) African American, 128 (1.9%) Native American, 56 (0.8%) Asian, 3 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 251 (3.7%) from other races, and 220 (3.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 713 persons (10.4%).
The Census reported that 6,849 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, 22 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 2,827 households, out of which 795 (28.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,484 (52.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 264 (9.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 168 (5.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 201 (7.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 25 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 733 households (25.9%) were made up of individuals, and 269 (9.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42. There were 1,916 families (67.8% of all households); the average family size was 2.88.
The population was spread out, with 1,463 people (21.3%) under the age of 18, 484 people (7.0%) aged 18 to 24, 1,511 people (22.0%) aged 25 to 44, 2,285 people (33.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,128 people (16.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.5 males.
There were 3,391 housing units at an average density of 426.0 per square mile (164.5/km$^2$), of which 2,827 were occupied, of which 2,119 (75.0%) were owner-occupied, and 708 (25.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 11.9%. 5,063 people (73.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,786 people (26.0%) lived in rental housing units.

## Politics

In the state legislature, Pollock Pines is in the 4th Senate District, represented by Republican Marie Alvarado-Gil, and the 1st Assembly District, represented by Republican Heather Hadwick.
Federally, Pollock Pines is in California's 3rd congressional district, represented by Republican Kevin Kiley.