If your home is in a California Fire Hazard Severity Zone, the first five feet around it is the most dangerous ground you own. As of September 19, 2026 no statewide Zone 0 regulation is in force: the Board of Forestry approved a final draft on August 19 and pulled it back for review on September 8. Some local jurisdictions are already stricter. This site separates what yours requires today from what the draft would add, and from what fire science recommends regardless.
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Zone Zero — officially Zone 0 — is the ember-resistant band within the first five feet of any structure in a California Fire Hazard Severity Zone. AB 3074 created it in 2020; SB 504 (2024) and AB 1455 (2025) extended it. The Board of Forestry approved a final draft on August 19, 2026, filed it as an emergency regulation on August 28, and pulled that filing back for review on September 8. No statewide rule is in force and no effective date exists — though some counties and cities have adopted their own. Wildfires rarely ignite a home directly. They ignite something near it. Zone 0 is about removing that something.
Zone Zero Explained
Zone 0 is a category of defensible space immediately surrounding a structure. Existing defensible-space law — Zones 1 and 2, covering five to a hundred feet — is enforceable today under Public Resources Code §4291. Zone 0 is not, statewide. Where it binds, it binds because a city or county adopted its own ordinance.
Research from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety and CAL FIRE consistently shows that embers, not direct flame, cause most structure ignitions in wildfires. That finding is not in dispute and does not depend on any regulation. It is why the first five feet matters whether or not the state ever finishes its rule.
What's in the first five feet
The proposed timeline, and why it has no start
Phase 1 — proposed, not in force
Three years after an effective date that does not exist
Clearing and removal: mulch, gutters, eaves, tree trimming, a vegetation-free band at the foundation
Phase 2 — proposed, set locally
Up to five years after an effective date that does not exist
Fencing, gates, sheds and outbuildings. The draft would bar new combustible fencing from its effective date.
New construction:Zone Zero required on the effective date. No grace period.
Landscaping & Vegetation
Required now under existing defensible-space law: dead vegetation and debris cleared. Proposed: no bark mulch or wood chips, plus a vegetation-free band at the foundation at least as wide as your eave overhang.
Phase 1Gutters, Eaves & Roof
Required now: Public Resources Code §4291 already obliges you to keep the roof clear of leaves and needles. Recommended: ember-resistant gutter guards, so it stays clear between visits.
Best PracticeVents & Openings
Foundation and attic vents are a leading ember entry point. Ember-resistant mesh is strongly recommended, and is required for new construction in designated wildfire areas. Vents are structure hardening rather than Zone 0, which governs the ground around the house.
Phase 2Fences & Gates
No statewide rule requires replacing a fence. Locally is a different story: unincorporated San Diego County has required a non-combustible first five feet since 2023, and the City of San Diego sets full compliance at February 28, 2029.
Phase 2Decks & Patios
No rule requires replacing a deck surface. What the draft proposes is the ground beneath and around it kept clear, measured five feet outward from the deck edge.
Phase 2Sheds & Outbuildings
The draft would cover accessory structures standing inside the first five feet — garden sheds, pool equipment enclosures, detached garages. Nothing requires it today. Moving what is movable costs nothing.
The Board of Forestry approved a final draft on August 19, 2026, 8–0. It filed the package as an emergency regulation on August 28 and withdrew that filing on September 8. Here is what each of those steps means — and what it does not.
Local ordinances are the only Zone 0 rules in force in California today, and they vary a great deal. Select your county to see your Authority Having Jurisdiction and what it requires now.
Los Angeles
Very High FHSZ
San Diego
Very High FHSZ
Ventura
Very High FHSZ
Orange
Very High FHSZ
Riverside
Very High FHSZ
San Bernardino
Very High FHSZ
Santa Barbara
Very High FHSZ
Alameda
Very High FHSZ
Approved August 19 · pulled back for review September 8 · not in force
There is no statewide deadline to beat — but your own jurisdiction may already have one. There is certainly still a five-foot band around your house that decides whether an ember becomes a fire. Check your parcel, take the checklist, or have a specialist look.