Silverado Fire - Orange County

Dear Campus Community,

This morning a Firefighters were aggressively battling a vegetation fire that broke out in the hills near Silverado in Irvine as strong wind gusts fueled it.

The blaze, dubbed the Silverado fire, had grown to about 50 acres by 8 a.m., a big jump from the 10 acres first reported just before 7 a.m. By around 9 a.m., fire authorities said, buildings were threatened and a mandatory evacuation order was issued for residents of Orchard Hills, on Irvine Boulevard from Bake Parkway to Jamboree Road, where thick smoke blanketed the air. The California Highway Patrol announced there are closures on the 241 and 133 toll roads.

Currently, many parts of SoCal are under Red Flag Warnings which include Burbank.

The moderate to strong Santa Ana winds coupled with very low humidities and very dry fuels will likely bring the most dangerous fire weather conditions we have seen since October 2019 to Los Angeles and Ventura counties. A particularly dangerous situation is expected for the Los Angeles County mountains Monday afternoon and evening due to the unusual combination of damaging wind gusts of 60 to 75 mph, single digit humidities, and extremely dry vegetation. New fire ignitions will have the potential for very rapid fire growth, extreme fire behavior, and long range spotting, resulting in a significant threat to life and property.

Our campuses are NOT threatened by any fires at this time. However, Woodbury University Campus Safety & Security Administrators will continue to monitor all wildfire activity that may occur in SoCal and provide updates and resources as they become available. Should you live by the Silverado fire, please email [email protected] to obtain resources.

Last Updated on October 26, 2020.