Portola Springs fire risk?

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lavender960

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Hi forum, first time poster.

Almost under contract for a home in Portola Springs. Should I be worried about fire risk? Got a quote from insurance agent of about 3k a year and it seems fine to us, but is it in the "fire zone" so that we should avoid it
 
The fire risk is not zero. There's been fire up there before, but the incredibly brave firefighters prevented property damage. People did have to evacuate.

Good insurance coverage is key. Hopefully you never need to file a claim. When the Santa Ana winds are at their strongest, maybe instead of worrying you can remind yourself that you have great insurance coverage.
 
3k for insurance on a new home? Thats crazy. Yes, it’s in a fire zone. You will hear people on here say it’s not and that their insurance hasn’t yet considered it a fire zone. But as mentioned above, PS was impacted by wildfires in the past and luckily no homes were impacted at that time. Keep in mind PS is a new community and if there hasn’t been claims in that zip code, insurance companies may not flag it as a fire zone YET.

If you plan on buying there I would budget for your insurance to continue to increase. Make sure you also have sufficient coverage to cover cost to rebuild.
 
lavender960 said:
Hi forum, first time poster.

Almost under contract for a home in Portola Springs. Should I be worried about fire risk? Got a quote from insurance agent of about 3k a year and it seems fine to us, but is it in the "fire zone" so that we should avoid it
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If you're concerned about being impacted by wildfires, don't buy next to nature space preserves.
 
momopi said:
If you're concerned about being impacted by wildfires, don't buy next to nature space preserves.
Click to expand...
I think the entire PS would be at risk if it hits any home. Did you see the Altadena fire in person? It was crazy how many homes that weren’t near the vegetation was impacted… strong winds would blow embers far enough to cause destruction to homes that you wouldn’t think would get impacted.
 
lavender960 said:
Hi forum, first time poster.

Almost under contract for a home in Portola Springs. Should I be worried about fire risk? Got a quote from insurance agent of about 3k a year and it seems fine to us, but is it in the "fire zone" so that we should avoid it
Click to expand...
Is it a condo? Or SFR?

I think someone has mentioned before to get coverage of around $400 per sq ft for replacement cost of building property on a homeowners policy if it’s a SFR. Cheaper annual premiums tend to fall short of that coverage amount. An insurance agent recommend $200 per sq ft for condo since it’s a different situation.

Not sure if you know the past fire history, as there was the Airport fire around last August or so about 14 miles away that could have easily affected Portola had the Santa Ana Winds blown west instead of east towards Lake Elsinore and south towards Trabuco Canyon. Portola got lucky with that recent Santa Ana wind episode.

There was also the massive Silverado fire in 2020 where there were evacuation orders for everyone in Irvine north of Trabuco Rd and Irvine Blvd.
 
Airport Fire would not have affected Portola Springs since it was in RSM. Santa Ana Wind tends to blow southwest, not northwest. RSM and Lake Forest would have been more at risk than PS by Airport Fire.
 
lavender960 said:
Hi forum, first time poster.

Almost under contract for a home in Portola Springs. Should I be worried about fire risk? Got a quote from insurance agent of about 3k a year and it seems fine to us, but is it in the "fire zone" so that we should avoid it
Click to expand...
What if down the road, 3K goes much higher or no insurance company wants to insure it?
 
This is an interesting article. While I applaud Irvine's comprehensive efforts at wildfire defense, I doubt that OH or PS is secure in a severe wind-driven event. Six-foot walls around the edge of your community will do nothing to stop embers that fly several miles.

It is not a matter of if but when the next fire hits Irvine. I hope Irvine leaders redirect spending on wildfire defense rather than new libraries and gyms.

www.latimes.com

Could this Irvine neighborhood be the blueprint for a more fire-resistant L.A.?

Years before the L.A. fires, Orchard Hills faced a fire of its own — and came out mostly unscathed due to a long collaboration between the developer and fire department.
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com
 
iacrenter said:
This is an interesting article. While I applaud Irvine's comprehensive efforts at wildfire defense, I doubt that OH or PS is secure in a severe wind-driven event. Six-foot walls around the edge of your community will do nothing to stop embers that fly several miles.

It is not a matter of if but when the next fire hits Irvine. I hope Irvine leaders redirect spending on wildfire defense rather than new libraries and gyms.

www.latimes.com

Could this Irvine neighborhood be the blueprint for a more fire-resistant L.A.?

Years before the L.A. fires, Orchard Hills faced a fire of its own — and came out mostly unscathed due to a long collaboration between the developer and fire department.
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com
Click to expand...
The article mentions a lot of fire resistant construction with stucco, concrete and clay roof tiles, minimal use of wood though. Sounds similar to the compound-style homes that survived fires in Malibu.
 
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