AGUAJITO OAKS, MONTEREY — October 30, 2026. A public wildfire-planning document for the Monterey Peninsula places Aguajito Oaks among the highest relative-risk communities assessed in the City of Monterey. In the November 2023 Community Wildfire Protection Plan developed for the Monterey Fire Department, the neighborhood received a score of 32, categorized “Very High.” Only one other Monterey community, Skyline, is listed at the same score.
This is an original look at published local emergency-planning records and what they mean for residents in 2026. It is not a newly issued evacuation order, an active fire warning or a claim that every property in Aguajito Oaks has the same fire risk.
How was Aguajito Oaks assessed?
The protection plan’s Table 8 compares communities across Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Pacific Grove. Its relative ranking weighs a combination of hazardous nearby vegetation, vegetation type, ember exposure, terrain, local vegetation conditions, response time and the ability to evacuate. These factors are especially relevant in neighborhoods where slopes, trees and street layouts affect how a fire might spread or how firefighters could reach homes.
In the same Monterey ranking, Glenwood scored 26.5 and Alta Mesa scored 21.5, while Deer Flats South scored 26.5. The numbers do not tell a property owner their home’s exact likelihood of burning in a given year. They are a relative index used to help government prioritize risk reduction across neighborhoods.
Does a ‘Very High’ score mean insurance will be canceled?
No such conclusion follows from this table. The plan’s community-relative rating is different from an insurer’s private underwriting, an individual property inspection, or the state’s legally designated Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Any household insurance decision depends on the actual carrier and policy and cannot be inferred from the neighborhood’s score of 32.
Residents who need to know the official hazard zone assigned to their address should use state or local parcel-level mapping rather than treat the protection plan’s neighborhood index as a parcel-level legal designation.
What does the plan say about making homes safer?
The plan explains common structural vulnerabilities in older wildland–urban-interface neighborhoods, including unscreened vents, exposed eaves, combustible siding and roofing, and vegetation near structures. It discusses the benefits of property-specific defensible space and coordination across neighboring parcels. The document also recognizes that costs, contractor availability and overlapping property boundaries can complicate projects.
Property owners should seek fire-authority guidance for their specific home, vegetation, building materials and access. A high community score alone does not establish which work is required on an individual parcel or whether a neighbor is violating a regulation.
Evacuation: check your exact zone, not just the neighborhood name
Rural-style residential streets and limited routes make preparation particularly important. Ready Monterey County asks residents to look up their precise address in the county’s evacuation-zone system and save the official code before an emergency. It also provides alert-registration options.
People who may need more time to leave—including residents with mobility limitations or pets—should plan ahead. No one should select an evacuation route solely from this article; real incident commanders can change access instructions as conditions develop.
Other Aguajito Oaks projects are separate
Aguajito Oaks News previously covered the proposed Littlefield Road streetlight and the city oversight discussion of road-surface ratings. Those are traffic and infrastructure matters, not proof that wildfire fuel or evacuation projects have been funded or completed.
Primary sources and caution
Monterey Fire Department, Monterey–Carmel-by-the-Sea–Pacific Grove Community Wildfire Protection Plan, November 2023, Table 8, printed pages 17–18 (in June 4, 2024 city council materials); Ready Monterey County: alerts and emergency evacuation-zone information.
Aguajito Oaks News reporting, October 30, 2026. The 32-point rating is from the published 2023 analysis and should not be misreported as a 2026 real-time risk score or an official active-fire status. Updated parcel-level state maps and current orders take precedence.
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