Wildfire compliance requirements are complicated. Homeowners should not have to become wildfire experts to comply with wildfire requirements. However, if you want to learn more about your property and compliance requirements, we make it remarkably easy to understand.
Because you’re buying a result, not just labor. A landscaping quote usually covers cutting. Ours covers the assessment, a written Wildfire Compliance Scope, the work, and the Done Report that documents it.
When an inspection is part of the job, we stay on it through any corrections within our contracted scope. When you compare bids, ask who owns that part.
No. Insurers decide coverage, fire authorities decide inspections, and no one can promise a home will survive a wildfire.
We guarantee our work: that it’s completed and meets the published standards for the scope we contracted. If an inspection goal or deadline is part of the job, it’s written into the contract with its conditions. The written contract controls.
The Conejo Valley and neighboring communities in Ventura County and Los Angeles County. See our service area, or call 805-818-8218 to talk through your property.
Start with the Defensible Space Snapshot. It’s free, immediate and 100% online.
Already have a notice, an insurer request or a deadline? Skip ahead and Book a Consultation.
The written plan we deliver after your Wildfire Compliance Consultation. It records your property’s current condition, compares it to the requirements that apply, and lays out the work, priorities and pricing.
Required, recommended and optional work are labeled so you can decide. The Scope is yours to keep, and we don’t share it with anyone without your permission.
No. The Snapshot is a free online lookup of your zone, fire authority and the rules that apply.
The Wildfire Compliance Consultation is an onsite assessment of your actual property: $500 standard, or $700 for next-day when available. Plan on 30–60 minutes. You receive a Wildfire Compliance Scope that’s yours to keep. Book a Consultation when you’re ready.
No. Book a Consultation and have the notice, property address and deadline ready.
On a tight deadline with no open appointment? call 805-818-8218. We’ll do our best; a rush charge may apply.
The Done Report: photographed proof of the completed work, plus material specifications and warranties where they apply. It gives brokers, insurers and fire authorities a clear record to review.
No. Your insurer decides whether to offer or renew coverage.
We complete the requested work and document it in the Done Report. Ask your agent what evidence the insurer needs, and we’ll make sure the report covers it.
The highest one. In VCFD’s jurisdiction, when a parcel has two or more zone ratings, the most restrictive rating applies to the entire parcel.
No. It’s a voluntary program, separate from your fire department’s inspection. Some insurers recognize it.
We can complete mitigation work to its standards. IBHS controls the designation, and your insurer controls coverage and discounts. We don’t issue designations or represent IBHS.
Sources: IBHS · Wildfire Prepared Home FAQs.
Yes. Oxnard isn’t in VCFD’s program; the city runs its own. Oxnard’s annual weed abatement for vacant lots and properties is due June 1 and covers cutting and removing dry weeds, brush, growth and trash.
Yes. Wind can open gaps at the roof or eaves, damage vents and leave debris against the house, and embers exploit all three.
Send us photos of the damage and any past inspection or mitigation records. We’ll scope the repair and the wildfire details that belong with it.
Sources: CAL FIRE · Home hardening.
If the home is in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, yes. Who inspects depends on the parcel, not the mailing address.
Thousand Oaks is VCFD. The City of Westlake Village is the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Check your property with the AB 38 Compliance Overview.
Not always. Different agencies use different names: VCFD sends Notices to Abate Fire Hazard, LACoFD sends an Annual Defensible Space Clearance Notice, and LA County’s Agricultural Commissioner handles weed abatement on vacant land.
Check the sender, the work and the deadline on each notice. Got two? Closing one doesn’t close the other.
Yes. It decides which state law applies. In a State Responsibility Area (SRA), defensible space is required in any mapped zone under Public Resources Code §4291. In a Local Responsibility Area (LRA), it’s required in Very High zones under Government Code §51182.
In Ventura and Los Angeles counties, the county fire departments protect SRA land under contract with CAL FIRE, so your fire authority is still VCFD or LACoFD.
Any grass that isn’t in a recreational area or community space, including turf in street rights-of-way and parking lots. Turf fenced off so people can’t use it doesn’t count as functional.
Covered properties can’t irrigate nonfunctional turf with potable water once their deadline arrives.
Sources: Water Code §10608.12; Water Code §10608.14.
Yes, if the home is in a mapped High or Very High zone. An LRA doesn’t exempt a sale.
VCFD applies AB 38 to High and Very High zones in both SRA and LRA. LACoFD applies it to SRA High and Very High zones and LRA Very High zones.
The agency clears it and bills you. VCFD’s contractor can do the work, with the cost plus an administrative fee placed on your property as a lien. LA County’s Agricultural Commissioner charges clearing costs on your property tax bill.
Don’t wait. Book a Consultation with the notice and we’ll scope the work.
Yes. A combustible fence can carry fire straight to the house. CAL FIRE recommends a noncombustible section where the fence meets the building.
In VCFD’s jurisdiction, new fences within 5 feet of a building must be noncombustible, and replacing any part of an older fence within 5 feet triggers the same rule for that run.
Ask your agent or broker. IBHS says many insurers recognize it, but benefits vary by company and state.
Get the answer in writing: the discount in dollars, the documents required and when it takes effect.
Sources: IBHS · Wildfire Prepared Home FAQs.
Expect follow-up enforcement and possibly agency clearance billed to you.
VCFD: the clearance deadline is June 1, and missed clearance can be done by VCFD’s contractor and charged as a lien. LACoFD: your Official Inspection Report sets the correction deadline (at least 30 days), and noncompliance brings a $500 fine plus a $1,647 enforcement assessment.
Book a Consultation with the notice to get it handled.
It might, but don’t budget on it until your agent confirms. IBHS says discounts vary by insurer and aren’t guaranteed.
Ask for the dollar amount, not a percentage. A percentage off the wildfire portion isn’t the same as that percentage off your whole bill.
Sources: IBHS · Wildfire Prepared Home FAQs.
Potable water can’t be used on nonfunctional turf starting January 1, 2028 for commercial, industrial and most institutional properties, and January 1, 2029 for HOA and common interest development common areas. Public agency properties started January 1, 2027.
Water for tree health is still allowed. Plan the conversion early so trees and real recreation areas survive it.
Sources: Water Code §10608.14; Water Code §10608.12.
Yes. Vents are a main entry point for embers. CAL FIRE recommends flame- and ember-resistant vents approved by the State Fire Marshal, or fine noncombustible metal mesh.
A screen and a listed replacement vent aren’t the same product, and either must keep the airflow the building needs. We’ll scope the right fix.
Sources: CAL FIRE · Home hardening.
Zone 0 is the first 5 feet around your home, where embers land and ignite whatever is there. The rest of defensible space reaches 100 feet (or your property line) and manages vegetation farther out.
There’s no statewide Zone 0 rule in effect yet: the state’s emergency regulation was withdrawn on September 8, 2026. VCFD already enforces its own Zone 0 rules. Check yours with the Defensible Space Snapshot.
No. State law stops at your property line, and clearing someone else’s land requires their written consent.
Each owner clears the part of the zone on their own land, even when it protects a neighbor’s house. VCFD spells this out: if your line is 60 feet from the house, you clear 60 and the neighbor clears the other 40.
Often, yes. It depends on the work and your building department, and a small wildfire upgrade isn’t automatically exempt.
We confirm permits, product approvals and inspections before work starts and build them into your Scope.
AB 38 is the law: sellers in High or Very High zones must give buyers proof of defensible space compliance. The inspection is how the fire authority produces that proof. C.A.R. Form FHDS is the transaction form your agent uses for the disclosure and any buyer agreement.
We handle the physical corrections and document them in the Done Report. It doesn’t replace the fire authority’s report or your transaction forms.
No. A fire department inspection checks its own clearance rules. IBHS uses a separate, stricter set of home and landscape requirements.
Know your goal before work starts: clearing a notice, answering an insurer, or earning a designation. We’ll scope to it.
Sources: IBHS · Wildfire Prepared Home FAQs.
It depends on your fire authority.
VCFD, existing homes: no combustible mulch, wood chips, firewood or artificial turf in Zone 0, and trees and plants kept 3 feet from roofs and eaves. New homes and new landscaping: nothing combustible at all. Fences within 5 feet follow VCFD’s fencing rule.
LACoFD: no Zone 0 rule yet. The state’s rule was withdrawn on September 8, 2026.
It depends on the parcel. The City of Westlake Village is served by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Thousand Oaks, including areas with Westlake Village addresses, and unincorporated Ventura County are VCFD.
The Defensible Space Snapshot identifies your fire authority from the address.
June 1. If you have a correction notice, its date controls. And clearance is year-round.
Cleared means VCFD’s defensible space code is met: dead plants and debris removed, grass mowed to a 3-inch stubble, roofs and gutters clean, trees 3 feet from roofs and eaves and 10 feet from chimneys, and the right spacing out to 100 feet.
Book a Consultation with the notice. When an inspection is part of the job, we stay on it through corrections in our scope.
Yes. State law calls for Zone 0 in every SRA zone and in LRA Very High zones, once the state adopts its rules (it hasn’t yet).
VCFD’s own Zone 0 rules already apply in its wildland-urban interface area. Check your property with the Defensible Space Snapshot.
It can help your broker make the case, but no one can guarantee an offer. Each insurer sets its own underwriting rules.
Ask your broker which improvements a target carrier recognizes before you start. We’ll scope that work, often to the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home framework, and document it in the Done Report. Keep your current coverage until a new policy is confirmed.
In VCFD’s jurisdiction, if any part of the fence within 5 feet of the house is replaced, that fencing must be noncombustible. Elsewhere, there’s no Zone 0 fence rule yet, but CAL FIRE still recommends a noncombustible section where the fence meets the house.
Check permits before you rebuild.
Probably. Defensible space covers more than brush: ornamental plants, trees, dead leaves, roofs and gutters all count.
VCFD’s code covers dead vegetation, grass height, roof and gutter debris, tree clearance from roofs and chimneys, and plant spacing. LA County’s code requires removing all dead vegetation, keeping roofs and gutters clean, keeping trees 10 feet from chimneys and storing firewood 30 feet away.
A tidy yard isn’t automatically compliant. Book a Consultation and we’ll check it against your fire authority’s rules.
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