BREA

city, Orange county, southwestern California, U.S., at the foot of the Puente Hills. Early settlers dug the oil-soaked earth in the Brea canyon for fuel, and commercial production began in the 1890s after successful strikes in the Brea and Olinda fields. The influx of people inspired the Ontario Investment Company to file a subdivision map in 1908 for a town to be called Randolph; this was refiled in 1911 to change the name to Brea (Spanish: pitch). Oil-based industries developed, and Brea was incorporated in 1917. Pop. (1990) 32,873.