California requires up to 100 feet of defensible space around homes in high fire-risk areas, with new Zone Zero rules now being phased in for existing homes.
During Zone Zero inspections, fire crews are looking for anything that could give wind-driven embers a chance to ignite a home, including dry leaves, vegetation, wood mulch and firewood.
Aaron Briner, Battalion Chief-Fire Marshal for the Montecito Fire Department, said the first five feet around a structure are among the most vulnerable areas during a wildfire because windswept embers are likely to collect there.
“It’s what we’ve determined through research and fire science, and experience to be the most vulnerable area of a structure,” Briner said. “It’s where the windswept embers are most likely to collect, and where most of the structure fires in a wildland fire begin.”
California law requires defensible space around homes in high fire-risk areas, with requirements extending up to 100 feet from structures.
The state also has established new requirements for the first five feet, known as Zone Zero. The new regulations are being phased in for existing homes.
Briner said preventing fires from reaching structures can help conserve firefighting resources.
“Once a structure fire is established, it takes a lot of resources to put it out,” he said.
Fire officials say defensible space is about more than protecting a single home. Creating that buffer can help firefighters focus their resources and give neighboring homes a better chance of surviving a wildfire.
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For Montecito homeowner Mabel Romero, the threat of wildfire has become part of everyday life.
“We moved out of a higher fire zone to be here, and then the fires came here,” Romero said. “We do think about it. We’ve been lucky so far, and we’re just hoping our neighbors stay safe as well.”
Montecito Fire officials say that concern is prompting more homeowners to reach out and ask crews to inspect their properties for potential fire hazards.
Briner said the department typically conducted about 50 defensible-space inspections a year in the three to four years before the Palisades and Eaton fires; however, that number has increased to more than 150 inspections annually. Some homeowners also ask crews to return each year for another inspection.
With free inspections available, fire officials say homeowners can take simple steps to reduce the risk of wildfire spreading to their homes.
