Protect Your Home from Wildfire with Defensible Space

Defensible Space refers to the area between a house and an oncoming wildfire where the vegetation has been modified to reduce the wildfire threat and which provides an opportunity for firefighters to effectively defend the house.  State law requires that all properties in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ), as designated by CalFIRE, maintain Defensible Space around their home.

Wildfires fueled by dry vegetation and driven by hot, dry winds are extremely dangerous and impossible to control.  During a major  catastrophic wildfire, the fire department may not have resources to defend your home.   The key to increasing the likelihood of building survival is to reduce fire intensity as a wildfire nears the house.  This can be accomplished by reducing the amount of flammable vegetation surround the building.

Typically creating Defensible Space requires routine gardening and landscape maintenance practices such as pruning, mowing, weeding, plant removal, appropriate plan selection, and irrigation.  The necessary equipment consists of common tools like a chain saw, pruning saw, pruning shears, shovel and rake.

Defensible Space extends from the edge of the structure up to 100 feet, or the property line, whichever is closer.  There are three zones, with increasing management intensity as it gets closer to the home.

• Zone 0:  From zero to five feet.  This is the ember resistant zone.
• Zone 1:  From five feet to thirty feet.  This higher intensity fuel reduction zone.
• Zone 2:  From thirty feet to one hundred feet.   This is the lower intensity fuel reduction zone.

The Laguna Beach City Council passed Ordinance 1664 on October 5th, 2021, adopting the Defensible Space Guideline for Existing Structures in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (DSG), dated August 2021.   On November 5th, 2021, compliance with the DSG became effective for all existing structures in the VHFHSZ.   Scroll to the bottom of the page to schedule a Defensible Space Inspection for real estate disclosure.   

Please refer to the DSG, dated August 2021, at the link below for details:

DEFENSIBLE SPACE GUIDELINE FOR EXISTING STRUCTURES IN THE VHFHSZ

See Ordinance 1664 for municipal code language, at the link below:

ORDINANCE 1664

To conduct a Home Risk Assessment, please follow the link below:

HOME RISK ASSESSMENT FORM

To review your home and yard for ember protection, please review the flyer at the link below:

HOME EMBER AWARENESS CHECKLIST

To prepare for a wildfire, please review the Ready, Set, GO! program flyer:

READY, SET, GO!! PROGRAM FLYER

CENTRAL LAGUNA - EVACUATION INFORMATION

NORTH LAGUNA - EVACUATION INFORMATION

SOUTH LAGUNA - EVACUATION INFORMATION

Learn How to Harden Your Home and Landscape

Real Estate Disclosure - Compliance with Defensible Space Requirements

On July 1, 2021, the new requirements for compliance with 2019 Assembly Bill 38 (AB 38) (click here) went into effect for residential property sales in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Approximately 85% of the City of Laguna Beach is in this Zone. This is applicable for residential properties with one to four units, and that require a Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS). The California Association of Realtors has created a helpful Quick Guide (click here) to Defensible Space disclosure requirements.

As part of AB 38 codification, new Civil Code Section 1102.19 was added.  That section includes requirements for defensible space inspections and documentation of compliance. The Laguna Beach Fire Department (LBFD) conducts the inspections based on order of received requests. The inspection requirements can be found in the LBFD Policy Memorandum (click here). If significant changes to the site vegetation are necessitated as a result of the inspection, and the property has a Design Review Board approved landscape plan, then a revised landscape plan must be approved through the City's Administrative Design Review process prior to commencing with changes to the plantings.

Once a property is verified as meeting the requirements, the LBFD will issue a Letter of Compliance to the property owner.  NOTE:  The City of Laguna Beach did not adopt the area designated as a "High" Fire Hazard Severity Zone.  Therefore, no inspections will be conducted in that Zone and no Letter of Compliance will be issued.

To assist in determining if a property is in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, the LBFD has created a downloadable "pdf" Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map (click here) depicting the Zone and all parcels in the City. To search by address or APN, please go to our our web-based GIS map.

In an effort to simplify the establishment of this new process, the City has waived the fees for this service during the first year of implementation. After that, the fee schedule will be revised to include this service, and the fees will need to be paid prior to scheduling an inspection.  

To request an inspection, please fill out the form below and submit it once complete.  One of our professional fire prevention staff will contact you for scheduling.