Proposed 5-foot regulations to help fortify properties against the risk of fire could come before the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection for a final decision in August. 

Under the draft released last month, property owners in State Responsibility Area and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in Local Responsibility Areas would be required to remove or modify combustible items within 5 feet of structures.

Removing combustible items within that space, known as Zone 0, would reduce the chance of a building igniting in a wildfire, according to board staff.

As Santa Barbara Wildfire Education Program Manager Charlotte Zeamer said at a Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council workshop last month: “Fire can’t proceed — and I’m gonna repeat this again and again — to your home if there is no path of fuel.”

If approved later this year, the changes would immediately apply to any new construction within those zones. 

Owners of already-built structures would have three years to remove combustible items such as firewood, dead leaves, mulch, wood chips, branches, dead and dying vegetation. That also includes any vegetation on roof and gutters. 

Herbaceous plants and succulents would be allowed within that 5-foot zone, but they must be under 18 inches and “not woody,” per Board staff.

Any vegetation, live or dead, would have to be removed within a minimum of 1 foot of a structure or up to the edge of a structure’s roof eve, whichever is longer.  

Trees would be allowed, but branches must be at least 10 feet away from chimneys. Branches must also be trimmed to 5 feet above roofs and would be prohibited under eaves.

Property owners would also be required to create an “under-eave safety zone,” where any combustible material is removed under a property’s eaves, within five years of regulation approval.

Any gates made of combustible materials, such as wood, would have to be replaced with a non-combustible material, such as metal, also within five years. Any sheds, fences and outbuildings within 5 feet of a property must also have exterior non-combustible materials.  

Approved alternatives to the above proposed regulations from local fire agencies — to be decided — will also be permitted. 

“This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach,” Forest Board Chair Terry O’Brien said. “We’re building in flexibility so local experts can tailor solutions unique to their individual communities while maintaining meaningful fire-safety standards.”

These changes came out of legislation from the California Assembly and Gov. Gavin Newsom. They are meant to help areas “most vulnerable to ignition from embers,” a Board spokesperson said. 

These guidelines must still be approved at a Zone Zero subcommittee meeting in June or July before heading to the full board for approval. 

If the board approves the new rules in August, they will go into effect in fall. 

CAL FIRE already has Zone 0, Zone 1 and Zone 2 guidelines to help decrease fire risk. These regulations would build on and make mandatory some of the existing Zone 0 regulations.

The full proposed regulations can be seen here.

Click here to see if a property is located in one of the required areas.