Over the past month we have had a run of calls from owners in Moonridge and Sugarloaf asking whether they now have to strip everything within five feet of the house, and whether there is a deadline.
The short answer: there is no enforceable statewide Zone 0 rule right now, and there is no effective date.
What happened
The Zone 0 (0–5 ft) defensible space requirements were approved in August 2026 and widely covered by realtors and community groups as settled law. The rulemaking was then withdrawn from Office of Administrative Law review on 2026-09-08. A withdrawn submission is not a rule. Until it is resubmitted and approved, nothing about Zone 0 is legally required of you.
We are flagging this because most of what is currently ranking in search on this topic was written in late August, before the withdrawal, and none of it has been updated.
What is enforceable today
Public Resources Code 4291 has been in force for years and has not changed:
- Zone 1 — 0 to 30 feet. Remove dead plants, grass and weeds. Keep the roof and gutters clear of leaves and needles. Trim branches back from the roof and chimney. Move woodpiles into Zone 2.
- Zone 2 — 30 to 100 feet. Cut annual grass down. Create horizontal and vertical spacing between shrubs and trees so fire cannot ladder up. Remove fallen leaves, needles and small branches down to a shallow depth.
That is the standard an inspector is actually holding you to today.
Who inspects you depends on where you are
This trips up more people than the regulations do.
- Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City and most of the valley — inspections run through the Big Bear Fire Department. An inspection fee applies.
- Fawnskin — falls to San Bernardino County instead. Different inspector, different process, same property owner surprised by it.
If you are not sure which side of that line your parcel is on, call before the notice arrives rather than after.
What insurers are asking for
Separately from the law: several carriers writing in the San Bernardino Mountains have started asking for near-structure clearance that looks a lot like the proposed Zone 0 standard, and for photographic evidence of it. Insurance requirements are contractual, not statutory — your carrier can require whatever it wants as a condition of writing the policy, regulation or no regulation.
That is why every defensible space job we do gets photographed zone by zone and documented in writing. It costs us nothing extra and it is the piece owners always need six months later.
What we would do this season
- Clear to PRC 4291 Zone 1 and Zone 2. That is required and inspected.
- Clear the first five feet voluntarily if you can — non-combustible ground cover, nothing stored under the deck, no bark mulch against the siding. It is cheap, it is the highest-value five feet on the property, and if the rule returns you are already done.
- Get it documented. Photos, dated, zone by zone.
If you want the current requirement for your specific parcel checked before you spend anything, send us the address.