Zone Zero in Sonoma County and Santa Rosa: your fence and gate

Zone Zero in Sonoma County and Santa Rosa means one fence change for covered homes: the first 5 feet of any fence or gate that meets the house has to be noncombustible. The state rule covers homes in the State Responsibility Area and in mapped Very High zones, 725 of them in Santa Rosa. Santa Rosa already requires the same 5 feet for new and rebuilt fences connected to a house, under City Code 18-46.504.11.7 since January 1, 2026, so a fence you replace there now needs a metal section at the house.

The Board of Forestry adopted the rule on August 19, 2026 and a revised version on November 5, 2026. The changes are on Zone Zero update November 2026, and when the deadlines start is on when Zone Zero takes effect.

Who in Sonoma County will the state rule cover?

Two groups, under both the August 19 text and the November 5 revision: buildings in the State Responsibility Area, whatever the hazard class (14 CCR 1299.03), and buildings in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in local areas (14 CCR 1298.04). Zone 0 does not apply to Local Responsibility Area properties outside a designated Very High zone.

That is nearly 46,300 inspectable structures in the State Responsibility Area across Sonoma, Lake and Napa counties, plus thousands more under local agencies. Santa Rosa’s share of the local group is small: 725 city properties in Very High zones, about 6% of the more than 12,300 in its wildland urban interface.

To find yours, search the address on CAL FIRE’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone viewer. Permit Sonoma also tells owners to check “Fire Protection Response Area” in the county’s Zoning Lookup Tool to see SRA or LRA, and it posts hazard zone maps for each city.

What will the state rule mean for a Sonoma fence?

If your home is covered, a fence or gate attached to the house or within 1 foot of it needs a 5 foot noncombustible span (14 CCR 1298.04(b)(9)(A); 1299.03(d)(9)), and no new combustible fence can go within 5 feet from the effective date. Existing fences get time: in local areas, 3 years or up to 5 on a local timeline (1298.04(c)(4)); in the SRA, 5 years or not less than 3 on the CAL FIRE Director’s schedule (1299.03(e)(4)).

The November 5 revision keeps the 5 foot span and says a fence or gate attached directly to a structure must be entirely noncombustible. New fences and gates within 5 feet must comply at the effective date. Existing fences and gates fall in the three to five year phase, and a later deadline in local areas needs a local ordinance with a written finding. The full fence rules are on Zone 0 fence requirements.

What defensible space rules apply in Sonoma County now?

These apply today, separate from Zone 0. Requirements differ for the LRA, the SRA and cities. In unincorporated areas, Sonoma County Code Chapter 13A (Ordinance 6148) covers improved and unimproved parcels. For homes in the LRA the county sets a Zone 1 out to 30 feet (roof and gutters clear, trees 10 feet from chimneys, trees pruned 6 feet up, grass at 6 inches or less) and a Zone 2 to 100 feet where slope or fuel calls for it. For SRA homes it cites PRC 4291 and 14 CCR 1299.03, the same section the Zone 0 rule amends to add the fence provisions.

None of the county’s current requirements mention fences. Today’s rules cover vegetation, roofs and debris; the 5 foot fence span is new.

How do Sonoma County inspections work?

Permit Sonoma’s Fire Prevention Division and local fire districts do 4,000 or more defensible space inspections a year, usually starting in late spring or early summer:

1. A first inspection. A failed property is reinspected 30 or more calendar days later, and reinspections carry a fee.
2. After a failed second inspection, the owner has 15 calendar days to fix the problem or request a hearing in writing.
3. After a hearing that finds a violation, the owner has 10 business days. If the county abates the hazard, the owner also owes abatement costs and attorneys’ fees.

Sonoma County Fire District’s 2022 SRA form adds a $100 administrative citation under county code; that and the statewide picture are on Zone Zero enforcement and inspections. Expect Zone 0 enforcement to start with education; CAL FIRE plans to keep prioritizing education and outreach.

What does Santa Rosa require for fences within 5 feet?

Santa Rosa City Code 18-46.504.11.7 reads: “Fences connected to dwellings or accessory structures shall have the attachment and first five feet be constructed of noncombustible materials.” The exception: if the structure is protected by a fire sprinkler system, the attachment and first three feet must be noncombustible. The section does not mention gates by name, so treat a gate in that first 5 feet as part of the fence and build it in metal.

• Where it applies. Any Fire Hazard Severity Zone in the city, whatever the class, and the city’s own Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area (City Code 18-46.101.2 and 18-46.101.3.1). The council redrew that WUI area with Ordinance ORD-2026-007, passed June 2, 2026, on a map dated March 19, 2026. This reaches far more homes than the 725 in Very High zones.
• Since when. The council adopted it in Ordinance ORD-2025-018 on November 18, 2025, as a local amendment to the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which applies from January 1, 2026. The ordinance states the change is substantially equivalent to a city amendment already in effect on September 30, 2025.
• Existing homes or new work. New work. The code applies to buildings constructed, altered, moved, repaired or maintained after the application date, and buildings or conditions that were legal when the code was adopted may continue unless they pose a distinct danger to life or property. A legal existing fence can stay; a new or rebuilt fence connected to the house must meet the 5 foot rule. Ask the Fire Prevention Division whether a repair you plan counts.

The state rule goes further in two ways: it sets a retrofit deadline for existing fences in Very High zones, and it counts a fence that stops within 1 foot of the house. The city rule covers more of Santa Rosa but applies only when a fence is built or rebuilt.

What else does Santa Rosa require near homes?

Santa Rosa has other rules of its own that reach the area near homes:

• Rebuilt homes. After 2017 the city required homes rebuilt in Tubbs Fire areas to meet a higher fire standard, including an ignition-free zone of three feet around each house.
• Fuels ordinance. The city adopted a fuels ordinance in 2019. It limits stringy redwood “gorilla hair” mulch within 30 feet of homes and requires removal of Scotch broom within 30 feet of roads, removal of fire-damaged dead trees, and dry grass at 4 inches or less in fire season.
• Map changes. In June 2026 the council redrew the city’s Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area, last updated in 2009, to match the newer state hazard maps (ORD-2026-007, map dated March 19, 2026). The redraw adds about 3,100 properties and removes about 800. Ask the fire department which boundary applies to your address.

In August 2026 Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal said staff were studying code updates, including whether to extend Zone 0 rules to the entire wildland area, and that the department had begun educational inspections in the eastern hillsides, Oakmont and Bennett Valley. AB 1455 allows Santa Rosa to adopt a Zone 0 ordinance stricter than the state’s. Berkeley and San Diego have done so; see Zone 0 rules by city. Marin’s grant-funded approach is on Zone Zero in Marin.

Is there money for fence work in Sonoma County?

Sonoma County’s SoCo Adapts project offers free home hardening and defensible space assessments and expects rebates of about $10,000 per parcel in 2026 for priority wildfire resilience actions. It does not list fence or gate work as an eligible item, so ask before you order (WildfireAdapted@Sonoma-County.org or 707-565-8575). Also check the statewide programs on home hardening grants in California.

What should a Sonoma County homeowner do now?

1. Look up the parcel: SRA or LRA, and the hazard class.
2. Keep up with the Chapter 13A or city vegetation rules you are already inspected on. They are enforced now.
3. If a wood fence touching the house is due for replacement, build the first 5 feet in metal. In Santa Rosa that is already required for a new or rebuilt fence connected to the house; elsewhere, new wood there is barred from the day the state rule takes effect.
4. Ask your fire agency (Permit Sonoma at 707-565-2361 for unincorporated areas, or your city or district) whether it plans a local Zone 0 ordinance.