Living in the Danger Zone in San Juan Capistrano

Do you live in a “very high fire hazard severity zone?” The residents of 122 homes do.

The San Juan Capistrano City Council on Tuesday will designate three areas in the city as a very high fire hazard severity zone.  The state Legislature asks that cities identify such areas to put local agencies on notice and promote prevention techniques among landowners and local officials, according to a city staff report.

“San Juan, you have the right area down there for a catastrophe,” said Marc Stone, public information officer for the Orange County Fire Authority.

He recommends residents in very high fire hazard severity zones “harden” their home by keeping vegetation 100 feet from structures and not storing firewood or wood patio furniture near their houses.

Even homes a neighborhood or two away from the severity zones are at risk, Stone said. All it takes is the right weather conditions and the embers can go flying.

San Juan, you have the right area down there for a catastrophe.

– Marc Stone, spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority

There are three primary very high fire hazard severity zones in San Juan Capistrano, in the east end of town, the north end and the south side, which on has been broken down into two maps.

Four homes are found in the east-end zone, which runs along Ortega Highway and the end of San Juan Creek Road. They are all on Ortega Highway.

In the north end, which runs between the Marbella Country Club tract and the Hunt Club, 22 homes are in the very high fire hazard severity zone. They are mostly on Steeplechase Drive and Rolling Wood Lane.

The city broke the south-end zone , which runs along Camino Las Ramblas, into two parts. The first map includes the most homes of any severity zone, 70.  Among them are houses along Calle Acordorse, Calle Rorrego, Calle de Bonanza, Paseo Activo and Paseo Peregrino.

The second map for the south zone has 26 homes, primarily on Las Palmas del Mar an Las Brisas del Mar.

The areas were chosen by the state director of Forestry and Fire Prevention. The Orange County Fire Authority then signed off in agreement, according to the staff report.

Stone said his department will come out and do a free evaluation of how fire-safe a house is. Interested residents can go here to set up an appointment.

One easy fix is to replace attic mesh screens with a tighter mesh, Stone said. Most homebuilders use quarter-inch mesh for vents, but that’s big enough for a fire ember to pass.

“You would never know it until your whole attic is on fire,” Stone said.

The Orange County Fire Authority has many more tips at a website it set up just for homeowners. 

Also on the agenda Tuesday is:

• Review of an audit of the city’s water department, which has an , the audit says. 
• A resolution that starts the process of coming up with a new ordinance that will regulate large assemblies in the city. The move is prompted by a couple who lives off of Mission Hills Drive whom .
• A discussion about whether the .

The City Council meets 6 p.m. Tuesday at , 32400 Paseo Adelanto.