Quick answer: Zone 0 — also called Zone Zero — is the first five feet around your house. In August 2026 California’s Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved rules for that strip in every State Responsibility Area and every Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, which covers large parts of hillside and canyon Los Angeles. Existing homes get a phased timeline of up to five years. Most of the early work is clearing combustible material; the later phase involves real construction — replacing wooden gates, rebuilding fence connections and dealing with sheds. APLA Construction (CA Lic #1136359) handles that construction work across Los Angeles.
The Board of Forestry describes the first five feet around a home as the most critical area for protecting it, because it is where wind-blown embers are most likely to land and ignite something. Zone 0 limits combustible material in that strip so an ember landing next to the house has as little as possible to ignite.
The concept comes from AB 3074 (2020), which directed the Board of Forestry to add an ember-resistant zone to California’s defensible space rules. Following the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, state leadership tasked the Board with strengthening defensible space standards around this zone. Under the rules the Board approved, Zone 0 is measured from the exterior wall, the roof and any attached deck, stairs or pergola — and the Board’s draft treats a self-supporting deck, stair or pergola within one foot of the house as attached. Where the property line is closer than five feet, Zone 0 stops at the property line.
According to the Board’s August 2026 summary, the rules apply to property owners in:
In local areas, the rules reach occupied structures in Very High zones specifically, not the Moderate or High zones. To confirm your property’s status, check CAL FIRE’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone map or LAFD, and see our guide to Fire Hazard Severity Zone neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
The Board has adopted the rules, but they are not in force and have no effective date. The sequence so far:
The City of Los Angeles is running its own track. In December 2025 the City Council directed LAFD, working with the City Attorney, to write local Zone 0 rules (Council File 25-1428). State law lets local fire agencies adopt alternative practices, but only where they provide “substantially similar practical effects” to the state rules. We have not found an adopted City of Los Angeles Zone 0 ordinance as of this writing. In the meantime, LAFD’s existing brush clearance requirements for the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone still apply.
The Board’s approach does not treat all five feet the same way. It splits Zone 0 into two areas:
| Area | Where it is | Standard | Phase |
| Safety zone | Directly against the house and under the eaves. Its width follows the eave — with 12-inch eaves, it is 12 inches wide. | Noncombustible | Phase 2 |
| Low-combustibility zone | From the safety zone (or the eave drip line) out to five feet | Low combustibility | Phase 1 |
The safety zone protects the most vulnerable parts of a building — the base of the wall, windows, decks and eaves — which is where embers tend to collect.
The Board built in a phased approach that prioritizes education and outreach. Per its August 2026 summary:
| When | What |
| On the effective date | Requirements already in state law: combustible debris off roofs and rain gutters, dead tree branches removed, and branches cleared within 10 feet of chimneys. |
| Phase 1 — within 3 years | Remove combustible items within 5 feet — firewood, dead leaves and branches, mulch and wood chips. Remove dead and dying plants, trim trees to the rules, and adjust vegetation to what is allowed. |
| Phase 2 — within 5 years | On a timeline set by the local jurisdiction: create the noncombustible under-eave safety zone, replace combustible gates, and make any necessary adjustments to sheds and fencing. |
New construction is treated differently: the Board’s summary says Zone 0 applies to new construction once the regulation takes effect, rather than on the phased schedule. If you are building an addition, an ADU or a rebuild in a fire zone, plan for Zone 0 from the start.
This is where Zone 0 turns into construction work, and it is the part most likely to catch homeowners off guard. Per the Board’s summary:
In practice, the common Los Angeles situation — a wood side-yard fence and gate fastened directly to the stucco — is exactly what Phase 2 targets. The fix is usually a metal gate and a noncombustible fence section where the fence meets the house, not a whole new fence. For broader fence options, see our fence installation guide.
If you are adding or replacing a deck or pergola in a fire zone, it is worth designing around Zone 0 rather than retrofitting later — see our guides to patio and deck additions and patio covers and pergolas.
Zone 0 is not a bare-dirt mandate. Under the Board’s approach, existing trees may remain subject to maintenance rules, and limited vegetation is allowed in parts of the zone. Potted plants are permitted in noncombustible pots that are easy to move, no taller than 1.5 feet, and meet spacing requirements. What has to go is the fuel: dead and dying plants, dry leaves and needles, and combustible mulch.
Zone 0 is a defensible space rule about what sits around your house. The materials of the house itself — vents, siding, roofing, eaves and windows — are governed by building standards, chiefly the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which became a standalone part of the 2025 California Building Standards Code that took effect on 1 January 2026. When you remodel or add on in a fire hazard zone, those construction standards apply to the new work. Our wildfire home hardening guide and siding guide cover that side of the problem.
Most Phase 1 work is clearing and maintenance that homeowners or landscapers handle. Phase 2 is different: it involves building. APLA Construction handles the construction side of Zone 0 for Los Angeles homeowners:
Every lot is different — eave depth, setbacks, slope and existing fencing all change the scope — so we price Zone 0 work after a site visit rather than from a rate card. If you are rebuilding after a fire, see also our fire insurance rebuild guide.
Zone 0, or Zone Zero, is the first five feet around a home or other structure, measured from the exterior wall, roof and any attached deck, stairs or pergola. California’s Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved rules for this zone on 19 August 2026 to limit combustible material where wind-blown embers are most likely to ignite a house. The concept comes from AB 3074 (2020).
It applies to homes in State Responsibility Areas and to occupied structures in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in Local Responsibility Areas, which is how most fire-zone homes inside the City of Los Angeles are classified. Homes in Moderate or High zones in local areas are not covered by the local-area rules. Check CAL FIRE’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone map or contact LAFD to confirm your property’s status.
Not yet. The Board submitted the regulations to the Office of Administrative Law on 28 August 2026, but OAL lists that filing as withdrawn on 8 September 2026, and the Board says it is still working with OAL on a final review. The rules take effect only once OAL approves and files them. For existing homes, the Board’s summary describes a phased timeline: requirements already in state law apply on the effective date, Phase 1 clearing within three years, and Phase 2 items such as gates, fencing and sheds within five years on a schedule set by the local jurisdiction. New construction must comply once the rules take effect.
No. The Board’s summary says repairs to existing fences are permitted. What changes is that no new combustible fences or gates may be built within Zone 0, and a five-foot noncombustible section is required where a fence attaches to the house in Phase 2 — for example, replacing a wooden gate with a metal one.
Some. Existing trees may stay subject to maintenance rules, and potted plants are allowed in noncombustible, easily movable pots no taller than 1.5 feet that meet spacing requirements. Dead and dying plants, dry leaves, needles and combustible mulch have to be removed.
APLA Construction is a licensed general contractor building in fire-zone neighborhoods across Los Angeles. If your side-yard gate, fence connection, shed or deck is going to need work under Zone 0, we can walk the property and scope it properly. Call (818) 818-4419 or email info@aplaconstruction.com. CA License #1136359.
Status updated 14 October 2026. Sources: Office of Administrative Law, Recent Actions on Emergency Regulations (file 2026-0828-03E, withdrawn 8 September 2026); Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, Defensible Space Zones 0, 1 and 2; California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, Summary of Draft Zone 0 Regulation Language (August 2026); Best Best & Krieger summary of the adoption; City of Los Angeles Council File 25-1428. We will update this article when the regulations take effect. General information, not legal advice for a specific property.