Rancho Mission Viejo

Summary

• Fire hazard severity zones

  Share of the land in each CAL FIRE hazard class

  Map
  1. Very High 23,034 acres · 22,719 state, 315 local 95%
  2. High 561 acres · 451 state, 110 local 2%
  3. Moderate 211 acres · 150 state, 61 local 1%
  4. Not mapped by CAL FIRE 449 acres · Mostly federal land 2%

  24,255 acres of land in all, 23,320 in the State Responsibility Area and 486 in the Local. State zones are the ones the State Fire Marshal designated, in effect since April 1, 2024. Local zones are CAL FIRE's 2025 recommendation, which each city or county adopts by ordinance and can make stricter. How to read fire zones

• Fire history

  The 10 largest of 28 fires that burned here

  Map
  1. 1958 Steward Fire 68,106 acres in total 8,226 acres here
  2. 1961 Outside Origin #2 Fire 5,019 acres in total 3,889 acres here
  3. 1954 Wiegand Fire 4,956 acres in total 3,031 acres here
  4. 1959 Talega Fire 3,188 acres in total 2,358 acres here
  5. 1993 Ortega Fire 21,012 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,191 acres here
  6. 1988 Ortega Fire 2,471 acres in total 2,013 acres here
  7. 1937 Unnamed fire 4,916 acres in total 1,797 acres here
  8. 1958 Unnamed fire 11,775 acres in total 1,593 acres here
  9. 1958 Kelly Fire 2,380 acres in total 1,467 acres here
  10. 1927 Unnamed fire 1,857 acres in total 1,018 acres here

  And 18 smaller fires. The most recent was the 2021 Pico Fire, which burned 7 acres here. In all, 17,581 acres of Rancho Mission Viejo have burned. Acres are the land each fire burned here, and fires that crossed less than an acre are not counted. Some older or smaller fires may be missing, and a fire perimeter can include unburned patches. How to read fire history