Rancho Santa Margarita

Summary

• Fire hazard severity zones

  Share of the land in each CAL FIRE hazard class

  Map
  1. Very High 5,588 acres · 4 state, 5,584 local 68%
  2. High 1,615 acres · Local Responsibility Area 20%
  3. Moderate 503 acres · Local Responsibility Area 6%
  4. Non-wildland 572 acres · Local Responsibility Area 7%
  5. Not mapped by CAL FIRE 1 acre · Mostly federal land <1%

  8,278 acres of land in all, 5 in the State Responsibility Area and 8,273 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 11 fires that burned here

  Map
  1. 1970 Nelson Fire 3,586 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,453 acres here
  2. 1980 Indian Fire 28,940 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,360 acres here
  3. 2002 Antonio Fire 1,480 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,138 acres here
  4. 1958 Steward Fire 68,106 acres in total 530 acres here
  5. 1976 Harvester Fire 526 acres in total 465 acres here
  6. 1944 Unnamed fire 495 acres in total 374 acres here
  7. 1963 Unnamed fire 168 acres in total 153 acres here
  8. 1997 Coto Fire 198 acres in total · Cause: Playing with fire 117 acres here
  9. 1976 Wagon Wheel Fire 491 acres in total 39 acres here
  10. 2017 Antonio Fire 2 acres here

  And 1 smaller fire. The most recent was the 2017 Antonio Fire, which burned 2 acres here. In all, 4,820 acres of Rancho Santa Margarita 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