About La Cañada Flintridge

La Cañada Flintridge is a small and affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States whose population at the 2010 census was 20,246, down from 20,318 at the 2000 census. According to Forbes, as of 2010, La Cañada Flintridge ranks as the 143rd most expensive U.S. city to live in, with a median home price of $1,321,367.

The city is situated in the far western end of the San Gabriel Valley. It is nestled between the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest on the north, and the San Rafael Hills on the south. Most of the city drains southeastward toward Pasadena to Arroyo Seco, but the western part of the city (generally west of Alta Canyada Road) drains southward toward Glendale via Verdugo Canyon. Both drainages join the Los Angeles River north of downtown Los Angeles.

The climate of La Cañada Flintridge is typical of a Southern California inland valley, with mild winters and hot summers. Spring often has hazy days, in contrast to the more persistently clear weather of fall. On average, the warmest month is August with high temperatures (F) in the low 90s and lows in the low 60s. December and January are the coolest months with typical highs in the high 60s (F) and lows in the mid-40s. Rainfall occurs mostly during winter, averaging about 22 inches annually. Rainfall is rare in summer. The moderating influence of the ocean (22 miles, 35 km, away) is limited due to the city's location inland from the intervening Santa Monica Mountains, the Verdugo Mountains and the San Rafael Hills. Consequently, summers are generally hotter and winters often cooler than in coastal parts of metropolitan Los Angeles if winds are calm or blowing gently offshore. Occasional strong offshore winds, known as the Santa Ana winds, can bring particularly hot air in summer and fall as air from the desert plateaus crosses the mountains and descends, thus warming further by adiabatic heating. Summer and early fall temperatures are substantially cooler if the prevailing wind is persistently onshore. Occasionally during a winter storm, the upper elevations of the city may see trace amounts of snow. The small ski resorts Mountain High, Mount Baldy, and Mount Waterman are located about 30 miles to the northeast. In August 2009, the city came under threat by the Station Fire.

Prior to the city's incorporation in 1976, the area consisted of two distinct communities, La Cañada and Flintridge (the latter named after developer and United States Senator Frank P. Flint). Flintridge comprises the southern part of the city, covering the northern flank of the San Rafael Hills, but more generally including most areas south of Foothill Blvd. The eastern part of the city, even north of Foothill Blvd., was also originally considered Flintridge and is still home to the Flintridge Riding Club and Flintridge Preparatory School. Reference to the entire city is often shortened to just 'La Cañada' but seldom to just 'Flintridge'. The full city name specifically does not have a hyphen in it, to illustrate unity between the communities that were once separately known as La Cañada and Flintridge.