Defensible Space
Zones 0, 1, and 2 around your home
California requires 100 feet of defensible space around structures in California's high-risk areas. The zones are cumulative: the closer to the house, the stricter the standard.
- Remove all dead plants, leaves, and pine needles from the ground and roof
- No bark mulch, wood chips, or combustible ground cover — use gravel, pavers, or bare soil
- Move firewood, propane tanks, and stored lumber at least 30 feet away
- Relocate potted plants and door mats made of combustible material
- Trim any branch overhanging the roof or within 10 feet of the chimney
- Keep grass mowed to four inches or less through fire season
- Remove ladder fuels — clear brush growing under trees
- Space shrubs so fire cannot carry from one to the next
- Limb trees up 6 to 10 feet from the ground
- Clear dead vegetation and keep landscaping irrigated where possible
- Thin trees so canopies are separated by at least 10 feet on level ground, more on slopes
- Cut annual grass down to a maximum height of four inches
- Remove fallen leaves, needles, and small branches to a depth of three inches
- Stack downed material for the community chipping day rather than burning it
- Keep exposed woodpiles clear of surrounding vegetation by 10 feet
Maintenance calendar
Late winter
Plan the year, book a chipping slot, order materials while contractors are available.
Spring
Cut grass before it cures, limb up trees, clear winter storm debris. Firewise Day falls here.
Early summer
Final Zone 0 sweep before fire season. Clean gutters and roof valleys again.
Fire season
Weekly needle and leaf removal from roof, gutters, and Zone 0. Keep go-bags current.
Fall
Post-season cleanup, chip piles removed, note what to fix before next year.
Chipping program
Stack cut material butt-end toward the road, no piece thicker than eight inches, within ten feet of the roadway edge and clear of overhead lines. Sign up for a chipping date on the events page — the program is funded through the Fire Safe Council and is free to residents.