CA California Porch

Wildfire

Wildfire defensible space around the home

Start here before clearing plants, moving firewood, changing mulch, or checking whether a home is in a wildfire hazard zone.

Safety guide Last reviewed June 29, 2026

Defensible space is the area around a building where you lower the chance that flames, heat, or embers can reach the home. It is not about scraping the yard bare.

Start at the house. Roof, gutters, vents, decks, porch steps, mulch, firewood, furniture, fences, and dry leaves are the things embers find first.

Then work outward. State guidance uses zones, but local fire departments, cities, counties, HOAs, protected-tree rules, insurance inspections, and real-estate paperwork can add separate steps.

First moves

  1. 1

    Start with the first five feet around the home, deck, porch, stairs, and attached fencing.

  2. 2

    Move firewood, lumber, trash cans, furniture, dry leaves, needles, and combustible mulch away from the house where official guidance says to.

  3. 3

    Then check Zone 1 and Zone 2 guidance out to 100 feet or your property line.

  4. 4

    Look up the property's fire hazard zone and confirm local fire-authority rules before removing protected trees or doing major work.

  5. 5

    Pair yard work with home hardening: roof, gutters, vents, eaves, windows, decks, and siding.

Watch for

  1. 1

    Zone 0 is the ember-resistant focus area closest to the home. Use the Board of Forestry and CAL FIRE pages for current rule and enforcement timing.

  2. 2

    One hundred feet does not mean crossing a neighbor's property or clearing land you do not own.

  3. 3

    A beautiful plant can still be a problem if it is dead, dry, against the house, under a deck, or acting like a ladder fuel.

  4. 4

    Real-estate, insurance, city, county, fire-district, HOA, coastal, habitat, or protected-tree rules can be separate.

Go deeper

Outdoor weather and hazard checks

A last-check guide for weather, smoke, fire, heat, surf, rivers, snow, roads, earthquakes, and the live sources to trust before you leave.

Camping and public lands

How to check the manager, reservation, fire, food, pet, water, road, and closure rules before you camp.

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