State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection: defensible space requirements: ember-resistant zones: emergency regulations: California Environmental Quality Act.

Assembly Member Bryan advances a measure that reframes California’s defensible-space rules by directing the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to implement an ember-resistant zone within five feet of a structure in state responsibility and very high fire hazard zones and by permitting local fire-protection agencies to adopt defensible-space ordinances that mirror the state regulations, with authority to tailor provisions to local conditions. The bill states that a property owner in compliance with the applicable local alternative practices shall not be deemed to have violated the state-defensible-space requirements, and it is proposed to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The core changes center on a 100-foot defensible-space perimeter around structures, with more intensive fuel modification required between five and 30 feet and an ember-resistant zone within five feet for structures, all to be implemented through regulations promulgated by the state board in consultation with the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The regulations may alter the fuel-reduction requirements within the 5–30-foot zone to integrate the ember-resistant zone into the overall standard. The bill defines “fuel” to include combustible materials such as petroleum-based products, cultivated landscape plants, grasses, weeds, and wildland vegetation. It also preserves local flexibility by allowing greater distances beyond the 100 feet when required by state law or local ordinance, with fuel modification on adjacent property permissible only with the landowner’s written consent and with allocations for costs in local ordinances. In addition, the bill requires a portion of a tree within 10 feet of a chimney outlet to be removed, and requires a structure’s roof, nearby vegetation, and other fuels to be kept free of dead or dying wood, leaves, needles, or other combustibles. Before constructing or rebuilding a structure that requires a building permit, the owner must obtain certification from the local building official that the proposal complies with applicable state and local standards, and provide a copy of the final inspection report to the insurer.

Implementation and regulatory pathways are designed to align with a rapid-rulemaking timeline. If adopting the regulations through regular rulemaking would impede meeting the December 31, 2025 deadline set by the governor, the board may proceed with emergency regulations, with initial regulations deemed necessary for the immediate preservation of public health and safety, and the Office of Administrative Law authorized to readopt such emergency regulations as needed. These emergency regulations may remain in effect until revised by the board, and their adoption or readoption is not considered a project under the applicable environmental-review statute. The bill obligates the board to update its fuels-management guidance no later than one year after adopting regulations under the executive-order deadline, and to reflect the new rules. The act also provides that the department may stage work for existing structures to support ember-resistance implementation and address compliance costs, and it adds consistent provisions about readoption and ongoing effect of emergency regulations.

In broader context, the authors frame these provisions as part of a statewide effort to regulate ember-related defensible space while permitting local tailoring of standards to local fire hazards and geography. The bill integrates with existing procedures for emergency rulemaking, guidance updates, and coordination with the State Fire Marshal, and it contemplates cost-reimbursable implications for mandates if the state mandates such costs on local entities. It also reflects a broader regulatory and statutory framework for fire prevention, including a special provision that, under certain conditions, an operative alignment with a parallel piece of legislation would govern the amendments to related public-resource code provisions. The urgency clause underscores the intended immediacy of adopting and implementing ember-resistant-zone regulations to address windborne embers and the risk to structures.