Is all of Irvine a wildfire hazard?

Looking at satellite view, turtle rock is pretty close to the hills. 
I?d say north of 405 and south of 5 is furthest away from the hills...  like west park, Woodbridge, etc
 
What you have to consider is how easily can firefighters defend your hood.

My friend in Mission Viejo was worried about the fires hitting them... and I was like "Really?". They are like 3 cities away and they weren't even smelling smoke. My other friends were way closer, could smell/see smoke and had to be evac'd but were not worried about the fire hitting their home.
 
gpquest said:
If so, are there any safer areas in Irvine to consider? Turtlerock? West on the 405?
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The areas that would generally be the safest from wildfires would be the inland neighborhoods. The exception to these would be Oak Creek and a tiny part of Woodbridge that borders Jeffrey/405 due to the Quail Hill Open Space being so close. All the fire would have to do is jump the 405 there and be right in Oak Creek.

In the past, there have been fires in Turtle Rock, Quail Hill, etc. They weren't huge fires but people in University Park and Turtle Rock did have to evacuate due to a fire off Ridgeline back in the day. Pretty much any neighborhood with hills or lots of open space nearby will be wildfire hazard.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
What you have to consider is how easily can firefighters defend your hood.

My friend in Mission Viejo was worried about the fires hitting them... and I was like "Really?". They are like 3 cities away and they weren't even smelling smoke. My other friends were way closer, could smell/see smoke and had to be evac'd but were not worried about the fire hitting their home.
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These people also clogged up the twitter hashtags with their worries.
 
No, areas prone to wild fires are typically that you can look up on google map that are close to hills. I lived in Irvine 15+ years and mostly the fires have been in around Orchard hills, Portola Springs as far as I remember.
There may be other areas close to the hills and greenery such as Turtle Rock.

 
irvinehomeowner said:
What you have to consider is how easily can firefighters defend your hood.

My friend in Mission Viejo was worried about the fires hitting them... and I was like "Really?". They are like 3 cities away and they weren't even smelling smoke. My other friends were way closer, could smell/see smoke and had to be evac'd but were not worried about the fire hitting their home.
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Exactly. I live in Orchard Hills and firefighters were there fairly quickly. We felt safe, despite the fire coming very close to some homes. They were there overnight and frequently walked/drove through the streets (I was able to see through my security camera). I think it?s hard to say which areas of Irvine are completely ?safe? from fires, as the heavy winds can transport embers anywhere and cause a fire.
 
Also, going off of what yes2 said, the entire ridge line from the 261 to Foothill Ranch has always been an area prone to wildfires. So, for people who are considering moving to any community off of Portola and are new to Irvine or unfamiliar with wildfires, just keep that in mind. The Silverado fire actually burned a lot of the same areas affected by the 2007 Santiago fire. The difference is when that burned, only the Orchard Hills apartments and a few tracts in Portola Springs existed.
 
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