California Zone 0 Rules, Where They Stand in October 2026

Zone 0 is the strip of ground within 5 feet of a building. It is where embers land and collect against mulch, leaf litter, and wood fences. California has been working on statewide rules for this zone since AB 3074 added the 5-foot ember-resistant zone to state law in 2020. As of October 13, 2026, those rules are written and adopted by the Board of Forestry, but they are not in effect.

Where the rules come from

The legal basis is Public Resources Code section 4291, the state defensible space law. As amended by AB 3074 (2020), it requires 100 feet of defensible space around a structure (or to the property line) and calls for "an ember-resistant zone being required within 5 feet of the structure," with more intense fuel reduction between 5 and 30 feet. The statute leaves the specifics to regulations from the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The statute also sets the clock. Under PRC 4291(g), the ember-resistant zone does not take effect for new structures until the Board updates its regulations, and it takes effect for existing structures three years after the date it applies to new structures.

In 2025, Executive Order N-18-25 directed the Board to complete Zone 0 rulemaking by December 31, 2025. That deadline passed without final rules in effect.

Current status: adopted, then withdrawn

The sequence, per the Board, the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), and a law firm summary:

• August 19, 2026: The Board adopted Zone 0 as an emergency regulation.
• August 28, 2026: The package went to OAL for review.
• September 8, 2026: OAL lists the package (file 2026-0828-03E, "Zone 0 Defensible Space") as withdrawn.
• October 2026: No Board of Forestry Zone 0 package appears on OAL's list of emergency regulations under review. The Board's project page says staff "continue to work with the Office of Administrative Law on a final review" and will update the page when the Secretary of State publishes the final regulation.

A local wildfire preparedness group reported that the Board described the withdrawal as procedural, to allow technical edits before resubmitting, and that another public comment period is likely. No resubmission date has been announced.

Bottom line: there is no statewide Zone 0 regulation in force today, and no effective date. CAL FIRE's own guidance says Zone 0 is "not legally required yet." Expect the rule to return, but do not plan around a specific date until OAL approves and files it.

What the adopted version covers

The August 2026 package is the best available preview. Per the law firm summary, Zone 0 generally runs 5 feet from exterior walls, the roof, attached decks, stairs, or pergolas, or to the property line if closer. The adopted version included:

• Removing combustible mulch, wood chips, leaves, needles, and bark, with limited temporary exceptions
• Keeping roofs and gutters clear and clearing combustibles under decks, balconies, pergolas, and stairs
• No firewood storage in Zone 0
• Removing dead branches and ladder fuels and keeping chimney and eave clearance
• Limits on vegetation near vulnerable openings, with some maintained nonwoody plants allowed under height and spacing standards
• No new combustible fencing in Zone 0, and a 5-foot noncombustible span for attached fencing, with repairs to existing fencing allowed
• Outbuildings under 120 square feet allowed in Zone 0 only if fully noncombustible

Where it would apply: in State Responsibility Areas, to buildings regardless of hazard class; in Local Responsibility Areas, to occupied structures in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Local agencies could adopt stricter rules, or alternative practices by ordinance with a written finding of substantially similar effect, but could not simply suspend or weaken Zone 0.

Phase-in: items already in prior law (roofs, gutters, firewood, dead branches, chimney clearance) would apply when the rule takes effect. Other requirements would phase in over three to five years for existing structures, per the statute and the adopted text. If the Board changes the package before refiling, these details may change.

Local rules may already reach the 5-foot zone

LA County Fire's approved fuel modification plan notes already define an "Ember Resistant Zone" that "extends 5 feet beyond the edge of any combustible structure." Your fire authority's conditions of approval, fuel modification plan, or local ordinance may already set expectations close to the building. Check those documents first.

What this means for HOAs, master communities, and commercial managers

Zone 0 will land on assets that associations and owners control directly: clubhouses, pool buildings, maintenance yards, perimeter walls and fences, landscaped strips along buildings, and commercial facades.

Practical implications:

• Fencing and gates at community edges and along buildings are a major planning item under the adopted text. Know where combustible fencing attaches to structures.
• Landscape contracts should reflect mulch and plant limits near walls once rules are final.
• Budget timing: a three-to-five-year phase-in still has to fit inside reserve studies and board approval cycles.
• Shared responsibility: where a common area abuts a private lot, the line between association and owner matters. Map it before the rule is final.

Why a dated record matters now

When Zone 0 takes effect, the questions will be practical: what was within 5 feet of this building on a given date, what changed, and when. Inspectors, insurers, and boards may each ask about conditions over time, not just a single snapshot.

A baseline captured before the rule is final shows starting conditions. Repeat captures show what changed after each landscape cycle, fence replacement, or cleanup. That record does not decide whether a property meets the rule. It gives the agencies and qualified professionals who make that call an accurate, dated view to work from.

How FlyCRE fits

FlyCRE flies community edges, common areas, and commercial sites on a set schedule and keeps a permanent, timestamped aerial record: orthomosaic, thermal, and multispectral layers. Each flight can be compared against the last, so changes near buildings and along fence lines are visible season over season.

We document. Qualified professionals interpret. FlyCRE does not capture private residences or private yards.