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Zone 0 rules in Sonoma County

Where the rules stand, and what to do in the first 5 feet around your home.

Where the rules stand. The Board of Forestry approved Zone 0 rules on August 19, 2026, and sent them to the state Office of Administrative Law on August 28. On September 8, the Board withdrew them from that review (OAL file 2026-0828-03E). As of October 11, 2026, they have not been refiled, so the state rule is not in effect yet. Insurers and local rules can still ask for the same work. Last checked October 11, 2026.
Want every Zone 0 item, statewide? Our sister site Zone Zero Guidelines covers what is allowed in the first 5 feet, item by item, and tracks the rule as it changes. Get Zone Zero Watch alerts by email when it does.
Why it matters now. You do not have to wait for the rule. Insurers must already offer discounts for a clear 5-foot zone. Some now require the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home designation for new policies in high-risk areas, and it starts with the same 5 feet. What insurers look for · How to keep your insurance.

What Zone 0 is

Zone 0 is the ember-resistant zone: the area from your home out to 5 feet. It is measured from the exterior wall, roof, attached deck, stairs or pergola, or to the property line if that is closer. The idea is simple. Nothing that can catch an ember and burn should sit against your home.

What the approved rules would require

Top-down view of a house with the first 5 feet around it shaded. Five numbered spots mark bark mulch and leaves, firewood, the area under an attached deck, a wood fence touching the house, and shrubs against the wall.
  1. Bark mulch and leaves against the walls and roof edge
  2. Firewood stacked near the house
  3. Under the deck: stored items and plants
  4. A wood fence that touches the house
  5. Shrubs and dead branches against the wall
Items the approved rules would remove or change. Not to scale.
  • Remove combustible mulch, wood chips, leaves, needles and bark.
  • No firewood stored in the zone.
  • Clear vegetation and stored items from under decks, balconies, pergolas and stairs.
  • No combustible fence or gate attached to the home. Attached fencing needs a 5-foot noncombustible section.
  • No new combustible fencing inside the zone.
  • Keep roofs and gutters clear.
  • Remove dead or dying branches and ladder fuels.
  • Limited, maintained plants that are not woody may be allowed if they meet height, spacing and container standards.
  • An outbuilding under 120 square feet may sit in the zone only if it is entirely noncombustible.

Who it would apply to

In a State Responsibility Area, the rules apply to buildings regardless of hazard rating. In a Local Responsibility Area, they apply only to occupied structures in locally designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Many homes in unincorporated Sonoma County are in a State Responsibility Area, but not all. Look up your address before you assume.

Even if the rule does not cover your home

Insurers look at the same first 5 feet, wherever you live. They rate wildfire risk with their own models, not the state's maps. California requires them to offer discounts for a 5-foot ember-resistant zone (Department of Insurance), and the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home designation, which some insurers now require for new policies in high-risk areas, requires one too (rate filings, January 2026). What insurers look for.

Local rules in Sonoma County

In unincorporated Sonoma County, the county's vegetation rules (Chapter 13A) already apply, and inspectors check homes in at-risk areas starting in late spring. Cities can have their own rules. (Permit Sonoma, inspections)

If the rules take effect as approved, requirements for existing homes would phase in over three to five years. Requirements for new structures wait on updated Board of Forestry guidance.

What to do now

You do not have to wait for the rules to be final. These steps count for insurance discounts now, and they get you ahead of the rule.

  • Rake and remove leaves and needles from against the house, the roof edge and the gutters.
  • Replace bark and wood chip mulch near the walls with gravel or stone.
  • Move firewood and other burnables away from the house.
  • Clear everything stored under decks and stairs.
  • Walk the fence line where it meets the house and note any wood that touches the wall.

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