54 Zone Zero Tips for the First 5 Feet of Your Home

What Zone 0 Is and Whether It Applies to You

• Zone 0 is the first five feet around a building, measured from the outside of the wall, roof edge, attached deck, stairs or pergola outward—or to your property line if that comes first.
• The rules adopted on 19 August 2026 apply to homes in the State Responsibility Area and in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones within local responsibility areas; check your address on CAL FIRE's hazard-severity map before assuming either way.
• The regulation was directed by state law (AB 3074, SB 504 and AB 1455) and a 2025 executive order after the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, so it is not optional for covered properties.
• New construction must comply as soon as the regulation takes effect; existing homes get a phased timeline of three to five years.
• The adopted text still goes to the Office of Administrative Law for review before publication, so the clock starts on the regulation's effective date, not on the Board's vote.
• Zone 0 sits inside the existing 100-foot defensible-space requirement: Zone 1 covers 5 to 30 feet and Zone 2 covers 30 to 100 feet, and those rules still apply.
• The rule targets wind-blown embers, which can land in dry leaves or mulch against a wall long before any flame front arrives—so the point is the material, not the view.
• A neighbour adding a structure or an accessory dwelling unit near your boundary does not put you out of compliance; the rule is explicit that it cannot force extra clearance on your side.

See also: Home Organisation Tips - Declutter and Simplify Your Space

Do These Right Away

• Clear leaves, needles and other debris from the roof and rain gutters—this part of the rule takes effect immediately for existing homes, not in three years.
• Move any firewood pile out of the first five feet now; stored firewood in Zone 0 is prohibited from the effective date.
• Trim every live tree branch so it is at least ten feet from chimney and stovepipe outlets, which is already required under existing state law.
• Remove dead or dying branches from any tree that stands within five feet of the house; that is also an immediate requirement.
• Cut back live branches that hang under the eaves—branches are not allowed beneath an eave at all.
• Walk the perimeter with a tape measure and mark the five-foot line with chalk or flags so everyone in the household knows where the rules change.
• Photograph the current state of Zone 0 before you begin; inspectors are told to look for measurable progress, and a dated before picture documents it.
• Keep your receipts and any contractor invoices together from the start, since grant and rebate programmes usually ask for proof of the work.

See also: Everyday Life Tips - Kitchen, Cleaning & Time-Saving Hacks

Phase 1: Clear the Five Feet Within Three Years

• Remove combustible mulches such as bark and wood chips from the whole five-foot band; gravel, pavers, decomposed granite and concrete are the usual replacements.
• Rake out fallen leaves, needles and other debris from Zone 0 and keep doing it through the year—the rule requires the area to stay clear, not just be cleared once.
• Clear vegetation and stored items from beneath decks, balconies, pergolas and stairs, where embers collect and are hard to see.
• Remove ladder fuels from trees in Zone 0: branches within six feet of the ground, or the lower third of the tree's height, whichever is less.
• Keep live branches at least five feet above the roof and at least a foot off any wall that has no eave.
• Take out dead or dying plants, including any that have died back for the season, because dead material is combustible whatever the species.
• Don't plant new trees within five feet of the house after the effective date—the rule bans new trees in Zone 0 even though existing ones may stay.
• If bare soil on a slope will erode once the mulch is gone, ask your inspector about a temporary exception; the rule allows one during construction and emergencies.

The Safety Zone Under Eaves, Windows and Decks

• Phase 2 adds a vegetation-free strip directly against the house: at least one foot from the wall, or out to the edge of the eave, whichever is farther, up to the full five feet.
• The width of that strip follows your eaves—a 12-inch eave means a 12-inch strip, a 36-inch eave means a 36-inch strip.
• Keep all vegetation at least two feet from windows, doors, vents and posts, since glass and vents are the weak points embers exploit.
• Leave a full five feet with no vegetation around attached decks, stairs and pergolas, which count as part of the structure.
• Pavers, flagstone, gravel or a bare concrete apron are all acceptable surfaces for the safety zone; only combustible ground cover is the problem.
• While the rule doesn't require it, the Board's guidance calls fine metal mesh around the base of a deck best practice for keeping embers and debris out.
• Local jurisdictions set the Phase 2 deadline, anywhere up to five years from the effective date, so check with your fire agency rather than assuming the maximum.

Plants You Can Keep

• Existing trees may stay in Zone 0 as long as they are pruned and maintained to the rule; the regulation never requires removing a healthy tree.
• Lawn and low ground covers under three inches tall are allowed outside the safety zone, provided they are mowed and free of dead material.
• Non-woody plants between three and eighteen inches tall are allowed in plantings of no more than one square foot, spaced apart by one and a half times the height of the tallest plant.
• Good candidates named in the Board's summary include bulbs, impatiens, begonias, petunias, poppies, yarrow and non-thatching succulents.
• Low ground covers such as blue-star creeper, beach strawberry, creeping thyme and mosses are given as examples of what works.
• Potted plants are fine in unattached, noncombustible containers of five gallons or less, kept under eighteen inches tall and spaced like in-ground plantings.
• Woody shrubs are the category to rethink: anything with hardened stems or a trunk does not qualify as a non-woody plant under the rule.
• Keep whatever you retain well watered and dead-headed—"well-maintained" appears in every allowance, and dried-out plants lose their exemption.

Fences, Gates, Sheds and Stored Items

• Any fence or gate that attaches to the house, or comes within a foot of it, needs a five-foot noncombustible span at the attachment point by the Phase 2 deadline.
• Swapping a wooden gate for a metal one is the example the Board gives; you don't need to replace the whole fence line.
• No new combustible fence or gate may be built within five feet of the house after the effective date, but you can repair an existing wooden fence with matching materials.
• "Noncombustible" has a precise meaning here: materials that pass the ASTM E136 test, which is the same standard the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code uses.
• Sheds and outbuildings under 120 square feet may stay in Zone 0 only if they are built entirely of noncombustible materials; otherwise move them out of the five feet.
• Treat wheelie bins, propane cylinders, plastic furniture and cushions as combustible items to relocate, even where the rule doesn't list them by name.
• Park vehicles, trailers and boats beyond the five-foot line where you can; tyres and upholstery ignite readily from embers.

Deadlines, Inspections and Getting Help

• Write the three deadlines on a calendar: immediate items on the effective date, Phase 1 within three years, Phase 2 within five years or sooner if your local agency says so.
• Expect inspections to focus on education first; the Board says inspectors will help homeowners identify issues and prioritise work rather than lead with penalties.
• Ask your local fire agency whether it has adopted alternative practices—local responsibility areas may approve variations that achieve substantially the same effect.
• Look for Zone 0 grants and community work days before paying a contractor; the state has earmarked Climate Bond funding and CAL FIRE grants for implementation.
• Ask about California Conservation Corps and local volunteer crews if you are older, disabled or unable to do yard work yourself—hands-on help is part of the rollout plan.
• Tackle the cheap, immediate tasks yourself and budget the hardscape and gate replacement over the longer window, rather than trying to do everything in one season.
• Let your home insurer know when you complete each phase; some California policies recognise defensible-space and home-hardening work.
• Watch the Board's Zone 0 webpage for the final guidance document, which is due to add practical tips once the regulation is published.