Could your home survive a wildfire without firefighter protection? Consider the following:

• A fast moving fire could reach your home before firefighters arrive.
• In a large fire, more homes will be threatened than there are resources to protect them.
• Every fire crew protecting a home is one less crew battling the fire.

The California Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 4291 requires property owners to maintain a defensible space around homes and other structures. Local regulations may stipulate additional requirements such as clearance along roadways and driveways.  In the Deer Springs Fire Protection District, that clearance is 10 feet except for designated evacuation routes where the clearance must be 20 feet.

Inspectors from the San Diego County Fire Protection District and firefighters from the Deer Springs Fire Protection District and CAL FIRE are responsible for inspecting all properties in the District. It is the law. Failure to comply with the Defensible Space requirements can result in a citation. Repeated failure to comply could result in a fine and forced abatement, the cost of which would be added to the property's tax bill and can be very expensive.

In 2020, Assembly Bill 3074 was passed resulting in the addition of  a third zone (Zone 0). This zone creates a 5-foot ember resistant area around Structures. Zone 0 is law in San Diego County and is incorporated into the 2023 San Diego County Consolidated Fire Code:

Sec. 4907.9.1 Zone 0 “Immediate Zone” 0-5’ Meaning from exterior wall surface or patio, deck or attachment to building or structure extending 5 feet on a horizontal plane. This zone shall be constructed of continuous hardscape or non-combustible materials. Removal of combustible materials surrounding the exterior wall area and maintaining area free and clear of combustible materials. The use of mulch and other combustible materials shall be prohibited.

The graphic below is courtesy of CAL FIRE and illustrates the basic requirements for defensible space. It has been modified to show Zone 1 extending to 50 feet (San Diego County) rather than 30 feet which is used elsewhere in the State. Obviously, these distances do not apply where they cannot be realized such as in smaller city lots or manufactured home communities. However, Zone 0 and many of the Zone 1 requirements on the following checklist can be met by most residents and will make your home more fire safe.

The following checklist is the minimum property owners should accomplish in order to comply with state and local ordinances, help make their property more fire safe, and increase their home's chances of surviving a wildfire.

Zone 0—Ember-Resistant Zone (extending 5 feet from buildings, structures, decks, etc.)

This zone includes the area under and around all attached decks, and requires the most stringent wildfire fuel reduction. The ember-resistant zone is designed to keep fire or embers from igniting materials that can spread the fire to your home.

• Use hardscape like gravel, pavers, concrete and other noncombustible mulch materials. No combustible bark or mulch
• Remove all dead and dying weeds, grass, plants, shrubs, trees, branches and vegetative debris (leaves, needles, cones, bark, etc.); Check your roofs, gutters, decks, porches, stairways, etc.
• Remove all branches within 10 feet of any chimney or stovepipe outlet
• Limit combustible items (outdoor furniture, planters, etc.) on top of decks
• Relocate firewood and lumber to Zone 2
• Replace combustible fencing, gates, and arbors attach to the home with noncombustible alternatives
• Consider relocating garbage and recycling containers outside this zone
• Consider relocating boats, RVs, vehicles and other combustible items outside this zone

Zone I—Within 50 feet of all structures or to the property line:

• Remove all dead plants, grass and weeds (vegetation).
• Remove dead or dry leaves and pine needles from your yard, roof and rain gutters.
• Remove branches that hang over your roof and keep dead branches 10 feet away from your chimney.
• Trim trees regularly to keep branches a minimum of 10 feet from other trees.
• Relocate wood piles to Zone 2.
• Remove or prune flammable plants and shrubs near windows.
• Remove vegetation and items that could catch fire from around and under decks, balconies and stairs.
• Create a separation between trees, shrubs and items that could catch fire, such as patio furniture, wood piles, swing sets, etc.

Zone 2—Within 50-100 feet of all structures or to the property line: 

• Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.
• Create horizontal space between shrubs and trees.
• Create vertical space between grass, shrubs and trees.
• Remove fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones, and small branches. However, they may be permitted to a depth of 3 inches.
• All exposed wood piles must have a minimum of 10 feet of clearance, down to bare mineral soil, in all directions.

Additional Requirements within I00 feet of all structures or to the property line:

• Logs or stumps embedded in the soil must be removed or isolated from other vegetation.
• Outbuildings and liquid Propane Gas (LPG) storage tanks shall have 10 feet of clearance to bare mineral soil and no flammable vegetation for an additional 10 feet around their exterior
• Address numbers shall be displayed in contrasting colors (4" min. size) and readable from the street or access road
• Equip chimney or stovepipe openings with a metal screen having openings between 3/8 inch and l/2 inch.

Local Requirements:

• Roadways and driveways must be cleared of combustible vegetation for 10 feet on each side. Designated evacuation routes must be cleared of combustible vegetation for a minimum of 20 feet.
• Roadside and driveway landscaping must be trimmed even with the edges of the roadway/driveway to a height of 13½ feet.

Additional Information:

There are many sources of information to be found on the internet. Some are more specific to our area and some are generalized. Here are several we think are concise and worthwhile:

• Ready for Wildfire
• San Diego County Planning and Development Services
• Ready San Diego
• Firewise