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Mission Viejo, California

37 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Mission Viejo census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92691. The Survey maps it on the San Juan Capistrano quadrangle. 93,653 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 561 feet above sea level.

Mission Viejo within Orange County

Then and now

1901 to 1983

The same ground, surveyed 82 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Mission Viejo, surveyed 1983
Topographic sheet of Mission Viejo, surveyed 1901

Population over time

2 figures

Mission Viejo grew from 93,305 to 93,653 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201093,305
202093,653+348 (+0%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

15 surveys from 37 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

191 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 191 fires within 5 miles of Mission Viejo between 2002 and 2020, burning about 1,794 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 62 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined73
Arson/incendiarism62
Smoking18
Misuse of fire by a minor16
Equipment and vehicle use14
Natural4
Recreation and ceremony2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Debris and open burning1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresOrange County Fire Authoritynot named
6 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined98 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2010Smokingunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
28 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
27 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
25 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
22 September 2010Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
20 September 2007Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Orange County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Mission Viejo: 4 producers, 2 past producers, 1 occurrence. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, General, Diatomite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Aliso ProspectDiatomiteOccurrence
El Toro DepositLimestone, General, Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Baker Ranch ExtensionStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
El Toro PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Gravel PitsSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
San Juan Capistrano PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Trabuco Creek PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Orange County

Storms near this place

9 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Mission Viejo in 9 storm reports between 1999 and 2024: 4 wildfire, 3 flood, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 debris flow. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2002WildfireMission Viejo$250,000no account filed
February 2001FloodMission Viejo$60,000no account filed
February 2004Thunderstorm WindMission Viejo$5,000no account filed
February 2024FloodMission Viejo-SR74 and Casper's Park had significant flooding occur after 4.50 inches of rain fell in the area.
January 2023Debris FlowMission Viejo-The Department of Highways reported a rockslide in the westbound lane of Highway 74 near Hot Springs Canyon Road. Over 1 inch of rain had fallen in the region.
January 2023FloodMission Viejo-Orange County Public Works reported minor flooding on roadways at Silverado Canyon, with rapid water movement in creeks. Two to three inches of rain were observed in the upper canyons.
December 1999WildfireMission Viejo-Dry conditions and gusty Santa Ana winds fanned a wild fire into a 38 acre blaze before being brought under control by more than 100 firefighters.
November 2002WildfireMission Viejo-no account filed
May 2002WildfireMission Viejo-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Orange County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Galivan2.1 miles37
Laguna Hills2.3 miles37
Las Flores2.5 miles37
Ladera Ranch2.8 miles37
Laguna Woods2.9 miles37
El Toro3.3 miles47
Lake Forest3.4 miles47
Serrano Place3.4 miles47

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Mission ViejoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q506428The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1661045. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.