Zone Zero in California: the law, who it covers, deadlines

This page covers the laws, the rule, who it covers and the deadlines. For fences and gates specifically, see our guide to Zone 0 fence requirements.

Is Zone Zero a law in California?

Partly. Three statutes wrote the ember-resistant zone into Government Code 51182 and Public Resources Code 4291 and shaped how it phases in, but they leave the details to Board of Forestry regulations, and those regulations are what owners will be inspected against. None of the three sets material standards for the 5 foot zone or mentions fences in it.

Until the Board’s rule takes effect, there is no statewide Zone 0 standard for owners to meet. The Board adopted the rule 8 to 0 on 19 August 2026 and filed it with the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on 28 August 2026 as an emergency package (OAL file 2026-0828-03E). The Board withdrew it on 8 September 2026, before OAL ruled; OAL’s record lists the file as “Withdrawn, September 8, 2026.” On 10 November 2026, OAL’s list of emergency regulations under review had no Board of Forestry entry.

Which laws created Zone Zero?

AB 3074 (Friedman), Chapter 259, Statutes of 2020. Signed 29 September 2020, effective 1 January 2021. It added “an ember-resistant zone being required within 5 feet of the structure, based on regulations promulgated by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection,” and asked the Board to “consider the elimination of materials in the ember-resistant zone that would likely be ignited by embers.” It also required more intense fuel reduction from 5 to 30 feet and defined the structure, for the zone, to include any attached deck. It barred CAL FIRE from changing inspection practices or enforcement for the zone until the CAL FIRE Director made a written finding that the Legislature had appropriated enough money (AB 1455 later moved that finding to the State Fire Marshal).

SB 504 (Dodd), Chapter 982, Statutes of 2024. Signed 29 September 2024. It gave existing structures three years after the new-structure start date instead of one, and required the regulations to allow staging of work on existing structures and to address the costs of compliance.

AB 1455 (Bryan), Chapter 731, Statutes of 2025. Signed 13 October 2025 as an urgency statute, effective immediately. It added Government Code 51182.4, which required the Board to adopt the regulations as emergency regulations if normal rulemaking would miss the 31 December 2025 deadline in Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-18-25. Unlike ordinary emergency rules, these stay in effect until the Board revises them. It also let local agencies adopt their own versions (see below) and requires the Board to update its guidance document within a year of adopting the regulations.

What happened to the Board of Forestry Zone 0 rule?

The rule went through an April 2026 draft, public workshops and a July 2026 staff memo before the August vote. As of 9 November 2026, the Board’s Zone 0 page still said staff “continue to work with the Office of Administrative Law on a final review.” That line is out of date: OAL’s own record shows the package withdrawn on 8 September, and nothing from the Board was under review on 10 November.

The Mountain Democrat reported on 28 October 2026, quoting Board staff, that OAL had raised questions, including about the emergency rulemaking authority, and that the Board withdrew the package to add information to the file. Board staff expected it to return to the Board at its 5 November meeting for approval of changes and then go back to OAL. A staff member told the paper: “The soonest I believe (Zone 0) could become effective would be like at the very end of November, maybe early December.” We have not been able to confirm whether the Board acted on 5 November, and as of 10 November 2026 the package was not back on OAL’s review list.

Once refiled, the regulation takes effect when OAL approves it and files it with the Secretary of State. Every deadline in this article counts from that date.

Who does Zone Zero apply to?

The state rule covers two areas only:

• Every building in the State Responsibility Area (SRA), where CAL FIRE is the primary fire agency (Public Resources Code 4291; rule at 14 CCR 1299.03).
• Occupied dwellings and structures in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the Local Responsibility Area (LRA), where a city, county or district fights fires (Government Code 51182; rule at 14 CCR 1298.04).

High and Moderate zones inside cities are not covered by the state rule. A Board FAQ dated 17 September 2025 gave CAL FIRE’s estimate of 1.25 million structures in the SRA and 870,000 in LRA Very High zones. To check your parcel, the Board’s guidance points owners to the Office of the State Fire Marshal’s fire hazard severity zone property viewer.

What does Zone Zero require?

Zone 0 runs 5 feet out from the exterior wall, roof, attached deck, stairs or pergola, or to the property line if that is closer (1298.04(a); 1299.03(a)(i)). The August 2026 rule, adopted but not in effect, requires:

• No combustible materials in the 5 feet, including bark and wood-chip mulch, fallen leaves and needles, and other combustible debris ((b)(1)).
• Roofs and gutters kept clear of leaves, needles and debris ((b)(2)).
• Nothing combustible under decks, balconies, pergolas and stairs, and no firewood stored in Zone 0 ((b)(3), (b)(4)).
• Tree maintenance. Trees may stay, but with no dead branches, live branches at least 10 feet from chimneys, none under eaves, ladder fuels removed in the first 6 feet or lower third of the tree, and branches at least 5 feet above the roof ((b)(5)).
• A vegetation-free buffer under eaves, within 1 foot of walls, within 2 feet of windows, doors and vents, and within 5 feet of attached decks, stairs and pergolas ((b)(6)).
• Limited plants outside that buffer: maintained non-woody plants under 3 inches, small groupings up to 18 inches, or potted plants in noncombustible containers of 5 gallons or less ((b)(7)).
• Fences and gates: no combustible fence or gate attached to the house, a 5 foot noncombustible span where a fence meets the house, and no new combustible fences within 5 feet ((b)(8), (b)(9)). Our fence requirements guide quotes these in full.
• Outbuildings in Zone 0 must be built entirely of noncombustible materials ((b)(10)).

Section letters above are the LRA numbering in 1298.04; the SRA versions sit under 1299.03(d). For the work in order, see how to comply with Zone Zero.

When are the Zone Zero deadlines?

None of these clocks has started. From the effective date:

A “new” home is one whose building permit application is submitted after the effective date (1298.02(e)). The Board’s rule summary and guidance describe this as two phases over five years, but where it differs from the rule text, the rule text governs. In the LRA the fence and buffer items start at 3 years unless the local agency sets a longer timeline.

Does Zone Zero apply when you sell a house?

No. AB 1455 contained a contingent version of PRC 4291 that would have applied Zone 0 to existing SRA homes at sale and to SRA rentals immediately, but it only operated if SB 326 (Becker) was enacted. The Governor vetoed SB 326 on 11 October 2025, and the veto was sustained on 2 March 2026. Some summary sites still describe a point-of-sale requirement; there is none in state law.

Can cities and counties set their own Zone Zero rules?

Yes. Under AB 1455, a local agency can adopt the requirements by ordinance with alternative practices that “provide for substantially similar practical effects,” or adopt stricter rules. An owner who complies with a locally adopted alternative “shall not be deemed to have violated” the state section. The August 2026 rule adds that local alternatives must be approved by the city council, board of supervisors or other governing body, backed by a finding from the local fire agency (1298.03).

The Board’s September 2026 guidance says that when it was written, local Zone 0 ordinances existed in the City of Los Angeles, the City of San Diego, the City of Berkeley, Shasta County, Ventura County and South Lake Tahoe. San Diego’s already apply: its guidelines (Rev. 4/22/2026) applied Zone 0 to new structures on 28 February 2026 and phase existing structures in from 28 February 2027, with a target of full compliance, fences and gates included, by 28 February 2029.

How will Zone Zero be enforced?

The Board does not enforce the rule. Its guidance says Zone 0 “will be enforced like other defensible space requirements”: local fire authorities in the LRA, and CAL FIRE defensible space inspectors in the SRA, who will help owners “prioritize actions over three years.” Inspections “aim to confirm good-faith progress toward compliance.” In the SRA, CAL FIRE also cannot change its inspection practices or enforcement for the zone until the State Fire Marshal posts a written finding that the Legislature has funded it.

Insurance runs on a separate track. The California Department of Insurance’s Safer from Wildfires program already lists a “5 foot ember resistant zone, including fencing” as a discount action, whether or not the Board’s rule is in effect. See our Zone Zero insurance discount guide and, for budgeting, the Zone Zero cost guide.

What we don’t know yet

• The effective date, and whether the Board approved changes at its 5 November 2026 meeting.
• Whether the text will change before refiling. We will compare the final text against the 19 August 2026 version and update this page.
• When CAL FIRE can enforce in the SRA, which depends on the State Fire Marshal’s funding finding.
• Which other cities and counties adopt their own versions, and whether they are stricter or more lenient than the state rule.