Short version: On August 19, 2026 the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved the final Zone 0 rule — the first statewide requirement for an ember-resistant zone in the five feet around a home. It applies to State Responsibility Areas and to Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones inside city and county jurisdictions, which covers most of the Santa Rosa Valley. The rule is not enforceable until the Office of Administrative Law finishes its review and an effective date is set, expected this fall. When it is, new construction must comply immediately; existing homes get three years for most of the work and up to five for the rest.
What Zone 0 means
Zone 0 is the first five feet out from the exterior walls of your house, garage, and any attached deck — measured from the wall, not the foundation. It is where wind-blown embers land and pile up, and where a burning shrub or a mulch bed puts flame directly against siding, a vent, or a window. The state’s fire science and the post-mortems from the January 2025 Los Angeles fires both point at this strip as the single most important thing a homeowner controls.
The rule splits Zone 0 into two bands:
- The safety zone — the strip directly against the house and under the eaves. Its width equals your eave overhang, with a minimum of one foot. Nothing that burns goes here: no plants, no mulch, no stored items. The same vegetation-free buffer applies within two feet of windows, doors and vents, and within five feet of attached decks, stairs and pergolas.
- The low-combustibility zone — from the eave drip line out to five feet. Low, well-maintained plants are allowed here under conditions (below).
What has to go
- Bark mulch, wood chips, gorilla hair, fallen leaves and needles, and any other combustible ground cover
- Firewood, lumber and stored combustibles — including anything stored under a deck
- Dead or dying plants, and dead branches on living trees
- Woody shrubs (juniper, rosemary, hedges) inside the five feet
- Combustible debris on the roof and in the gutters
- New combustible fences or gates within five feet of the house. Existing fences can stay and be repaired with like materials, but where a fence attaches to the house, the first five feet must be replaced with a noncombustible section — for most of us that means swapping the wooden side gate for a metal one.
- Sheds and outbuildings inside Zone 0 must have noncombustible roofs and exterior walls
What can stay
- Existing trees. Mature shade trees do not have to be removed. They must be limbed up — lower branches removed from the bottom six feet (or lower third for small trees), dead wood out, branches kept five feet above the roof and ten feet from the chimney. No new trees may be planted in Zone 0 once the rule takes effect.
- Lawn and low ground covers, kept under three inches
- Non-woody plants and flowers up to 18 inches tall, in spaced groupings, outside the safety zone — the Board’s examples are bulbs, poppies, yarrow, impatiens, petunias and non-thatching succulents; creeping thyme, beach strawberry and blue-star creeper as ground covers
- Potted plants in noncombustible, movable pots, no taller than 18 inches
- Decomposed granite, pea gravel, stone, pavers and concrete
When
- On the effective date: New building permits must meet the full rule. For existing homes, three things apply immediately because they already match current state law — clear the roof and gutters, remove dead branches, and keep tree limbs ten feet from chimneys and clear of eaves.
- Phase 1 — within three years: Remove combustible materials from the five feet (mulch, firewood, wood chips, dead plants), finish the tree work, and bring plantings into the allowed categories.
- Phase 2 — within five years, on a timeline set by the local fire agency: Establish the under-eave safety zone, replace combustible gates and the fence sections that attach to the house, and address sheds and fencing.
The Board has been explicit that the first years prioritize education over penalties: inspectors are told to help homeowners identify issues and show measurable progress. That said, Zone 0 compliance is already something insurers ask about at renewal, and defensible-space documentation is required at sale under AB 38.
Does it apply to my house?
It applies if your parcel is in a State Responsibility Area, or in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone within a city or county’s Local Responsibility Area. Most of the Santa Rosa Valley’s unincorporated neighborhoods are SRA, and the 2025–26 CAL FIRE map updates moved more of the county into the very-high tier. Check your own parcel on the CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone viewer. Ventura County Fire can also adopt local variations for the LRA, provided the Board of Supervisors finds them equally effective.
Where to start
The good news for anyone reading this site: task 1 on our Start Here plan is exactly this work, and it costs nothing but a weekend. Clear the first five feet, then log the hours — they count toward your community’s Firewise renewal. If you want an assessor to walk your specific property and tell you what an inspector will look for, the Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council’s home assessment is free.
Common questions
Do I have to cut down the oak next to my house?
No. Existing trees are allowed in Zone 0. You need to remove dead wood, limb up the lower six feet, and keep branches five feet off the roof and ten feet from the chimney.
Is my wooden fence illegal now?
No. Existing fences stay and can be repaired. What changes is the five-foot section where the fence meets the house — that has to become noncombustible during Phase 2 — and no new wooden fences or gates can be built inside the five feet.
Can I keep any plants against the house?
Not in the safety zone directly under the eaves or within two feet of windows and vents. Between the drip line and five feet, low non-woody plants under 18 inches and lawn under three inches are fine.
What about artificial turf or rubber mulch?
The rule text does not name them. Under the general definition of “combustible” they are likely to be treated as combustible by an inspector. Gravel, decomposed granite and pavers are the safe choices.
Is there money to help?
The state has pointed to Climate Bond funding and CAL FIRE grants, and the California Conservation Corps is doing Zone 0 labor for underserved households. Locally, watch our Projects page and the Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council for chipper days and hardening subsidies.
Sources: Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, “Summary of Draft Zone 0 Regulation Language,” August 2026, and the approved rule text for 14 CCR §1298 et seq.; California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force, August 19, 2026. This is a summary by volunteers, not legal advice; the rule text controls.