Zone 0 is the first 5 feet around your home. It’s where embers land, pile up and find something to burn. That’s why it gets its own rules.
The state rule: on hold
A 2020 law (AB 3074) added an ember-resistant zone to California’s defensible space laws. It applies in State Responsibility Areas and in Very High zones in Local Responsibility Areas, but only once the state adopts the regulations that spell out what it means.
The state’s emergency Zone 0 regulation was withdrawn on September 8, 2026. Today there is no statewide Zone 0 requirement in effect.
Ventura County: already in effect
VCFD didn’t wait. Its 2025 Wildland-Urban Interface Code sets Zone 0 rules for existing homes now. The rules apply in VCFD’s wildland-urban interface areas, including parts of Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Camarillo, Oak Park, Santa Paula, Piru and Somis. In the first 5 feet, including under decks:
- No combustible mulch or wood chips, no firewood, and no artificial grass.
- No plants under decks, and nothing combustible stored there.
- Roofs and gutters free of leaves and needles.
- Trees and plants at least 3 feet from roofs, eaves and patio covers.
- No new trees. New or replacement landscaping follows the stricter new-building rules.
- Replace any part of a fence within 5 feet, and the whole fence within 5 feet, gates included, must then be noncombustible.
New homes, additions and new landscaping
Since March 1, 2025, nothing combustible is allowed in Zone 0 at all: no plants, no planter boxes, no vines on the house or fence, and no tree canopy within 10 feet of a new building.
Zone 0 rules are changing. We keep up so you don’t have to.
Los Angeles County: not yet
LACoFD has no Zone 0 rule. Its annual brush clearance rules still apply to the whole property, the first 5 feet included.
What it means for you
In VCFD’s jurisdiction, these are requirements today, and inspectors check them. In LA County, Zone 0 will arrive when the state adopts its rules. Find out which applies to your home with the Defensible Space Snapshot.