Several areas of La Jolla are identified as having “very high” fire hazards in a new assessment by Cal Fire, the first new map since 2011 laying out fire hazard zones across the state.

Soledad Natural Park, La Jolla Heights Natural Park, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and UC San Diego were areas of La Jolla given the highest level of concern.

The new map ranks hazard zones as “moderate,” “high” or “very high,” rather than just “very high,” as in years past.

Cal Fire’s interactive Fire Hazard Severity Zone map is available online atbit.ly/3G8CzSM. Users can toggle among ZIP codes to see their community.

Key differences in La Jolla between the 2011 and 2025 maps include an expansion of the “very high” hazard zones to La Jolla Heights Natural Park all the way to the coast. In 2011, that area was unmarked.

Some portions of the UC San Diego area were downgraded to “high” and “moderate” risk, while areas like Cliffridge Park did not receive a classification on the updated map.

On the other hand, the Soledad Natural Park area saw a marked increase in “high risk” designations.

The total amount of designated acreage in La Jolla is not available, as it is grouped with San Diego County at large.

Cal Fire studied several factors in drawing the map, including types of vegetation, slope, climate and fire history.

In wildland areas, the agency considers potential spread and intensity. In non-wildland areas, it also calculates tree cover, the possible number of embers and where they are likely to land due to wind patterns, according to Cal Fire.

Areas with similar slopes and flammability are grouped into zones. Two main factors are considered — burn probability and expected fire behavior under extreme conditions. The probability of fire, combined with potential flame length, indicate which areas are most hazardous.

Dave Sapsis, Cal Fire research manager for the Fire and Resource Assessment Program, said the three-level classification system, “not unlike a report card,” is “sort of an expansion of the program and mapping into cities, which is just going to be different no matter what. I think that actually is important because it reflects, fundamentally, the influence of likelihood.”

While the maps indicate hazard risk, “at this juncture, we don’t have the capacity to understand how to predict structure ignition,” Sapsis said. ”It’s just a hazard model, and it’s best referred to as such.”

San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, said he’s glad to see updated maps “based on more substantial data than has been used in the past” and reflecting the nuances between “very high,” “high” and “moderate” hazard zones.

“It has a dual purpose,” LaCava said. “One, it is for public awareness. But also [it] will help guide the city of San Diego’s efforts.”

LaCava has heard constituents raise concerns about fire safety, including at his March 5 town hall meeting in La Jolla, which pushed a group of local residents to pursue formation of a La Jolla Fire Safe Council, a community preparedness and prevention organization comparable to a Neighborhood Watch for crime.

Is it time for a Fire Safe Council in La Jolla?

“I think folks might be more aware of what is unique about District 1, and that is all the natural open space we have,” LaCava said. “The timing of this is very interesting, because I think with the tragic fires in L.A., there is a much more heightened awareness of where the risk is and living in proximity to these open space areas.”

LaCava encourages residents to take steps to protect their properties against fires, have a strategy in case of a natural disaster, work with neighbors to clear debris and other ignition risks and notify the city of any open space concerns.

La Jolla Shores Association President John Pierce, who lives just outside a pair of “very high” hazard zones, raised concerns about Mount Soledad’s brush hazards. After viewing the new map, he said the hazard severity zones align with the community’s concerns.

Pierce, who volunteered to be a board member for a potential La Jolla Fire Safe Council, said the map reinforces a need for stricter building codes for fire resistance, regular brush clearance, adequate water infrastructure and built-in fire breaks.

He also emphasized the importance of collaboration and preparedness among neighboring communities, especially if a fire is “a hop, skip and a jump” away from areas outside the hazard zones.

“It will affect us all,” he said. “Fires will not adhere to these boundaries, so it is still a concern for all of those that live adjacent to Mount Soledad.”

What’s being done in La Jolla and beyond to prevent wildfires

Though a barrage of wildland fires earlier this year ignited safety concerns across San Diego County, the new countywide map indicates a decrease in acreage with “very high” fire hazards, compared with 2011.

According to Cal Fire, San Diego County has 157,338 acres with that hazard level, below the 2011 figure of more than 180,700 acres.

On the state level, however, more than 1 million acres under local jurisdictions were given “very high” hazard ratings — an increase from more than 860,000. Areas in Los Angeles County, which was hardest hit by this year’s wildfires, saw increases of 30%.

The main use for the maps, Cal Fire Capt. Jim McDougald told The San Diego Union-Tribune, is for planning new homes. Building a home in a “very high” severity zone, for example, would necessitate complying with construction and materials standards under Chapter 7A of the California Building Code.

Additional standards apply to water supply, road widths and entry and exit paths. Home sellers must make disclosures about the fire hazard.

Is La Jolla ready for a wildfire? A look at evacuation routes and safety measures just in case

Alma Lowry, a captain and community resource officer with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, said the maps are “a very handy tool” in the city’s risk-reduction efforts.

“There’s such far advances in mapping, with satellites and drones and everything that’s out there, that we’re getting a lot of really great content,” Lowry said. “And the mapping is getting better every year they redo them.”

The new map may not come as a surprise to people in the heavily impacted areas, however.

“A lot of people that live in the high-severity zones already know they live in high-severity zones,” Lowry said.

Sapsis said he expects the mapping updates to become more common.

“We’ve got a model and there’s so much attention on these maps,” he said. “It’s obvious the L.A. fires have influenced the level of focus and interest in the maps. Our intent is to have this on a regular update cycle as we streamline the data and the workflow for the model.”

— San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Christian Martinez contributed to this report. ♦

Originally Published: April 6, 2025 at 12:25 PM PDT