California Passes Toughest Wildfire Rules in the U.S. for Home Landscaping
The rules cover about 2 million homes and give existing owners up to five years to remove combustible materials near their houses.
- On Wednesday, the California Board unanimously approved "Zone Zero" regulations requiring homeowners in high-risk areas to clear combustible materials within five feet of structures, affecting an estimated 2 million homes.
- State legislators voted for these regulations over five years ago following massive 2020 wildfires that killed 31 people. After years of stalemate, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a 2025 executive order mandating the board finalize the rules.
- Research shows comprehensive defensible space can improve home survival rates to 48%. The regulations prohibit vegetation within one foot of homes and require removal of combustible materials such as mulch and wood chips throughout the five-foot Zone Zero area.
- Compliance will be phased in over five years with initial focus on education rather than penalties. However, critics including Dave Lefkowitz warn the mandate could cost homeowners thousands of dollars, as no state funding is provided for required property improvements.
- Local governments can adopt alternative versions of the rules if they provide equivalent fire safety. Insurance companies are required to provide discounts to homeowners making homes more fire-resistant, offering hope that these standards will help stabilize the precarious high-risk property market.
13 Articles
13 Articles
High fire-risk California homes must limit trees, plants, fences under new ‘Zone 0’ rules
State legislators voted to create the regulations more than five years ago as California was reeling from massive wildfires in 2020 that razed thousands of homes and killed 31 people, requiring an "ember-resistant" zone, known as Zone 0, near homes.
Homes could face new wildfire-safety requirements under 'Zone 0'
Some Californians might soon be living in a new kind of danger zone. Wildfire safety rules approved by the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection would require homeowners in fire-prone areas to reduce combustible materials within five feet of their homes. The board approved the final draft of its first-in-the-nation “Zone 0” defensible-space regulations on Wednesday, which are intended to reduce the risk that wind-driven embers will ignite …
State approves ‘Zone Zero’ fire-safe landscaping rules, reshaping yards for millions of Californians
LOS ANGELES — After nearly six years of debate and backlash, California’s Board of Forestry and Fire Protection voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt new landscaping requirements within five feet of homes — an area dubbed “Zone Zero” — for millions…
Los Angeles Times
ArcaMax PublishingState approves 'Zone Zero' fire-safe landscaping rules, reshaping yards for millions of Californians
The California Board of Forestry approved 'Zone Zero' regulations outlining what residents in fire-prone areas can plant, build and store near their homes.
California passes toughest wildfire rules in the U.S. for home landscaping
California has adopted the toughest new rules in the country that require homeowners to manage the plants around their houses. Fire experts say it helps protect houses from burning, but public pushback has been strong.
California adopts weaker home protection rules as wildfires grow
The new rules, which apply to about 2 million homes, were mandated by a 2020 state law requiring residents in high-risk wildfire areas to establish an ember-resistant perimeter by removing vegetation and other combustible material within five feet of a dwelling.
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