ZONE Zero Compliance

Zone Zero Ember Defense | The First Five Feet

How Skyline Fire Clearance Can Help

We assess your property against the current Board of Forestry checklist, clear combustibles from the Zone Zero perimeter, install or refresh gravel and hardscape beds, prune ladder fuels and chimney-adjacent branches, clean roofs and gutters, and document everything with before-and-after photos for your inspection file. We work directly with Santa Cruz County Station 29 and the South Skyline Fire Safe Council, so the work we do is the work inspectors are trained to look for.

Zone Zero is the highest-leverage fire protection investment on a mountain property, and the one most homeowners haven’t started yet. If you’d like a free assessment of your Zone Zero perimeter, reach out through the contact page or call us directly.

About Zone Zero

Most homes lost to wildfire don’t burn from flames reaching the walls. They ignite from wind-driven embers landing in the first five feet, in bark mulch, under a deck, against a wooden fence. Zone Zero is California’s answer to that problem, and it’s now the law.

What Is Zone Zero?

Zone Zero is the ember-resistant zone extending five feet outward from the exterior wall of your home, attached deck, stairs, or pergola, or to the property line if that’s closer. It also includes a six-inch vertical strip between the ground and the start of your siding. The goal is simple: nothing in that zone should be able to catch from an ember.

This requirement comes from Assembly Bill 3074, passed in 2020, which amended Public Resources Code section 4291. The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection adopted the implementing regulations on August 19th, 2026. They apply to all State Responsibility Areas, which covers nearly all of unincorporated Santa Cruz County, including the Skyline corridor, and to Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in Local Responsibility Areas.

Compliance Timeline

For new construction, Zone Zero requirements take effect immediately upon the regulation’s effective date. For existing structures, certain items are required right away: clearing roof and gutter debris, removing firewood, cutting dead or dying branches, and trimming branches within ten feet of a chimney. The broader vegetation, mulch, fencing, and under-deck requirements phase in over three years, or five years if your local fire agency sets that timeline. Either way, the clock is running, and insurance carriers are already asking about Zone Zero on renewals.

What Must Be Removed from Zone Zero

•  ⁠All combustible mulch: bark, wood chips, shredded rubber, synthetic turf

•  ⁠Dead and dying vegetation of any kind

•  ⁠Vegetation under eaves, or within one foot of the structure where there is no eave

•  ⁠Vegetation within two feet of windows, doors, posts, or vents

•  ⁠Vegetation within five feet of attached decks, stairs, or pergolas

•  ⁠All vegetation and stored combustibles under decks, balconies, and stairs

•  ⁠Firewood, lumber, propane tanks, and combustible patio furniture against the structure

•  ⁠Combustible fencing or gates attached to the structure

•  ⁠Ladder fuels: branches on the lower six feet of a tree, or the lower third for smaller trees

•  ⁠Tree branches within ten feet of a chimney or stovepipe outlet

•  ⁠Tree branches within five feet above the roof where there are no eaves

•  ⁠Debris accumulated on the roof, in gutters, and in the gaps between deck boards

•  ⁠Combustible outbuildings within Zone Zero

What Is Allowed in Zone Zero

The zone doesn’t have to be barren. Limited, well-maintained non-woody plants are permitted outside the safety zone under the eave:

•  ⁠Non-woody plants under three inches tall, including lawns and ground covers mowed to three inches

•  ⁠Non-woody plants up to eighteen inches tall in groupings no larger than one square foot, spaced apart one and a half times the height of the tallest plant

•  ⁠Non-woody plants up to eighteen inches tall in unaffixed, noncombustible pots no larger than five gallons, also spaced one and a half times plant height apart

•  ⁠Low ground covers such as blue-star creeper, beach strawberry, creeping thyme, and mosses

•  ⁠Bulbs, impatiens, begonias, petunias, poppies, yarrow, and non-thatching succulents

•  ⁠Hardscape: gravel, crushed rock, decomposed granite, pavers, natural stone, concrete, or bare compacted mineral soil

•  ⁠Weed cloth under rock mulch is acceptable

•  ⁠Existing trees may remain if maintained: no dead branches, no branches within five feet above the roof or ten feet of a chimney. New tree planting in Zone Zero is not allowed.

Fencing Rules

No combustible fence or gate may be newly constructed within Zone Zero. If a combustible fence attaches to your structure, the first five feet from the point of attachment must be replaced with noncombustible material: steel, wrought iron, aluminum, masonry, or Corten. Existing combustible fences may remain beyond that five-foot span, and repairs using the same material are allowed. Where a fence or gate is attached to an occupied structure, a noncombustible gate or panel must be installed within five years of the regulation’s adoption.

Deck and Under-Deck Requirements

The area under any attached deck, balcony, or stair landing falls inside Zone Zero. Remove all vegetation and stored combustibles from beneath it. Best practice is installing metal mesh screening around the deck perimeter to block debris accumulation and ember entry, plus a full five feet of noncombustible clearance outward from the deck footprint. Move patio furniture, doormats, and propane tanks off the deck or away from the house.

Beyond the Five Feet — Home Hardening That Multiplies the Effect

Zone Zero works best alongside basic home hardening. CAL FIRE recommends ember-resistant vents with metal mesh between one-sixteenth and one-eighth inch, plugging gaps in siding larger than one-eighth inch, enclosing open eaves, and considering noncombustible siding for the bottom two feet. These aren’t Zone Zero requirements, but they close the pathways embers use to get inside.