BlockBefore

Portola Hills, California

47 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Irvine-Lake Forest census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92679. The Survey maps it on the Lake Forest quadrangle.

Portola Hills within Orange County

Then and now

1901 to 1997

The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Portola Hills, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet of Portola Hills, surveyed 1901

Compare 1901 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

17 surveys from 47 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

109 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 109 fires within 5 miles of Portola Hills between 1992 and 2020, burning about 7,597 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 21 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/undetermined39
Arson/incendiarism21
Equipment and vehicle use20
Misuse of fire by a minor8
Smoking6
Recreation and ceremony6
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Natural3
Fireworks1
Other causes1

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
7 September 2006Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCleveland National ForestLIVEOAK
3 September 2005Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCleveland National ForestPOOL
27 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
26 September 2005Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCleveland National ForestDOVE
26 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCleveland National ForestPOTSIE
25 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined14 acresOrange County Fire AuthoritySANTIAGO FIRE
25 September 2004Equipment and vehicle use14 acresRiverside UnitSTATE FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Orange County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 20 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 20 workings within 5 miles of Portola Hills: 10 past producers, 6 producers, 2 occurrences, 1 prospect. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Gold. 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
Baker Ranch ExtensionStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Blue LightLead, Zinc, Silver, Copper, GoldPast ProducerPyrite, Sphalerite
Hicks Canyon ProspectFire Clay (Refractory)Occurrence
Shirley MineGoldProspect
Silverado-Santa RosaSilverProducer
Wilhunt MinesLead, Gold, SilverPast Producer
El Toro PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Gravel PitsSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Ike Arnold Mine and Washing PlantClay, Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Sully-Miller Contracting Co.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Orange County

Storms near this place

1 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Portola Hills in 1 storm report in 1993: 1 tornado. The reports record 2 injuries. 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
November 1993Tornado (F0)Portola Hills2 hurt, $1,000A small tornado overturned a mobile home.

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
Upper Aliso0.8 miles37
Rancho Trabuco1.6 miles37
Foothill Ranch1.7 miles47
Modjeska2.1 miles47
Trabuco Canyon2.5 miles37
Rancho Santa Margarita3.0 miles37
El Toro3.6 miles47
Robinson Ranch3.7 miles37

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1765683. 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.