Décor

Pergolas, trellises, and yard décor in Zone 0: what the rules actually say

Fact-checked August 19, 2026·Sources at the end of this article

California's ember-resistant-zone rule treats a pergola less as a banned item than as a surveying instrument: whether it is attached to the house decides where the five-foot zone begins. The August 19, 2026 package changed the answer for metal, and that is the biggest update on this page. Trellises and yard décor are the opposite case. The statewide rule never mentions them, but two city ordinances already in force do, by name.

An attached pergola moves the starting line

The regulation does not measure Zone 0 only from the house wall:

Zone 0 is the area within five (5) feet around each Occupied Structure, beginning at the exterior surface of the exterior wall, roof, attached deck, stairs, or pergola and extending five (5) feet out, or to the property line, whichever comes first.

14 CCR §1298.04(a), Board of Forestry Zone 0 rule text, unchanged from the July 2026 draft through the August 19, 2026 package (approved August 19, 2026; not yet in effect).

If a pergola is attached to your house, the five feet start at the pergola's outer posts, not at your wall. The definitions section is where the August package made its most consequential edit:

An Occupied Structure, for the purpose of determining an ember-resistant zone, includes an attached deck, stairs, or pergola, but does not include patios made of Noncombustible materials.

Board of Forestry Zone 0 rule text, definitions, as published in the August 19, 2026 package. The July 2026 draft had also excluded decks, stairs, and pergolas made of noncombustible materials; the August package dropped that exclusion.

Read that carefully, because it reverses what we wrote here before. A noncombustible attached pergola is now part of the Occupied Structure, so Zone 0 is measured from its edge and the five-foot vegetation-free buffer runs from there. Only noncombustible patios sit outside the definition. "Attached" also reaches a self-supporting pergola within one foot of the house, language the July draft carried and the August package left alone, so a small gap does not change its status. The same logic applies to attached decks and stairs. One caveat on every provision quoted on this page: the August 19 package in the board binder is the pre-meeting deliberative draft, amendments made from the floor would not appear in it, and no certified "as adopted" text has been published yet.

What the rule prohibits, and the words it never uses

The rule reaches combustible décor through one blanket provision:

Except as set forth herein, no Combustible materials are permitted within the full 5 feet of Zone 0. This includes, but is not limited to: fallen leaves and tree needles; Combustible mulches, including bark and woodchips; and other Combustible debris.

14 CCR §1298.04(b)(1), Board of Forestry Zone 0 rule text, unchanged from the July 2026 draft through the August 19, 2026 package.

That is the entire mechanism. The rule text never names trellises, arbors, shade structures, privacy walls, or planters as prohibited items. Anyone telling you the state rule "bans trellises" is quoting a list that is not in it. It is Berkeley's, covered below.

The regulation imposes two pergola-specific duties: "The areas underneath decks, balconies, pergolas, and stairs shall be kept free of vegetation and Combustible items," and "There shall be a minimum five (5) feet of vegetation-free buffer spanning out from the edge of any attached deck, stairs, or pergola." The August package left both untouched. Neither requires removal or replacement of an attached pergola; pergolas appear only in the measurement definition and these two duties. Because the definition now takes in noncombustible attached structures, both duties reach a metal pergola as well as a wood one.

Attached or freestanding: why it matters

Where trellises and pergolas are named: Berkeley and San Diego

Berkeley's fire-code amendments (Fire Code §4907.6) are in force now, effective January 1, 2026 in the Grizzly Peak and Panoramic mitigation zones. Within five horizontal feet of any structure, the prohibited list is explicit:

Combustible materials include but are not limited to vegetation, climbing vines, combustible boards, timbers, firewood, debris, synthetic lawn, wood mulch products, combustible fencing and gates (e.g.: wood/vinyl), playsets, plastic trash and recycle cans, trellises, pergolas, shade coverings, planters, attached window boxes, privacy walls, boats, RVs, and other material that could be ignited by embers, radiant heat, or direct flame.

City of Berkeley Fire Code §4907.6, ordinance text in the April 15, 2025 council adoption packet.

Enforcement began with a grace period, with inspections reported ramping up through 2026; confirm current practice with Berkeley Fire.

San Diego's Zone 0 guidelines (Rev. 4/22/2026, implementing SDMC §512.0604 for Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones inside city limits) use the same pergola-as-measurement-origin approach as the state rule, then go further on detached structures:

Non-habitable structures that are not attached to the home (habitable structure), such as gazebos, pergolas and sheds, in Zone 0, must be non-combustible.

City of San Diego, Zone 0 Guidelines for Existing Structures (Rev. 4/22/2026), definitions.

The same guidelines name trellises and window boxes among items "likely to be ignited by embers," and prohibit combustible planters and outdoor furniture within five feet of exterior walls on deck surfaces. Our San Diego Zone 0 guide covers the full ordinance; for detached sheds, see sheds and outbuildings in Zone 0.

Planters: the noncombustible-pot rule

The rule does not ban potted plants in Zone 0. It sets conditions. Here is the July 2026 draft version of the provision, which the August package edited in one respect that matters:

Well-maintained Non-Woody Plants in pots are permitted if they are in unaffixed, non-Combustible pots or containers that are no larger than five (5) gallon capacity and are set apart by one and a half (1.5) times the height of the plant from each other. These plants shall be no greater than eighteen (18) inches in height.

Proposed 14 CCR §1298.04(b)(7)(C), Board of Forestry July 2026 draft Zone 0 rule text.

In the August package the Local Responsibility Area version swapped that loose phrase for the regulation's defined term, "Noncombustible pots or containers," which ties the pot itself to the ASTM E136 test. The State Responsibility Area twin at §1299.03(d)(7)(C) still carries the undefined "non-Combustible," so the stricter reading is LRA-specific for now, and the certified text will settle it. The rest of the conditions (unaffixed, five gallons or less, spacing of 1.5 times the plant's height, 18 inches tall) carried over unchanged. Either way this is a noncombustible-planter allowance rather than a general one: a wood or plastic planter does not qualify.

Berkeley's in-force rule is nearly identical, adding that pots must sit 1.5 times the plant height or 12 inches (whichever is greater) from the structure and each other, never directly beneath, above, or adjacent to a window or eave; attached window boxes are banned. The voluntary IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home standard allows up to 10 noncombustible pots (its examples: terra cotta or clay) on deck surfaces, each no more than 36 inches including the pot. For in-ground rules, see plants and vegetation in Zone 0.

Metal and masonry alternatives

The state rule and San Diego's guidelines both define "noncombustible" the same way: passing ASTM E136, a vertical tube furnace test at 750 °C that measures whether the material itself can burn. Berkeley's ordinance instead bans its listed combustible items outright, and the IBHS checklist allows metal (aluminum, steel, chain link, iron) or concrete only. In practice, aluminum, steel, wrought iron, chain link, masonry, concrete, and stone pass. Wood, vinyl, composite, and fire-retardant treated wood (FRTW) do not, and neither do fire-rated coatings. "Fire-rated" and "fire-resistant" labels are not the same as noncombustible; see our noncombustible materials guide.

A metal pergola still behaves differently from a wood one, though one old difference is gone. Under the August package, a noncombustible attached pergola no longer sits outside the "Occupied Structure" definition, so switching to metal does not move where Zone 0 is measured from. What metal does buy: under San Diego's in-force guidelines, noncombustible construction is what lets a detached pergola or gazebo stay in Zone 0 at all. And the voluntary IBHS standard, which normally gives an attached overhead structure its own five-foot noncombustible zone, makes an exception for a "completely noncombustible (e.g., metal) pergola" and drops the 10-foot wall setback it requires of a detached combustible pergola on an attached deck when the structure is "constructed entirely of noncombustible materials."

The same logic covers smaller items: Berkeley's list bans combustible planters and privacy walls; the IBHS removal list includes "combustible privacy dividers" and wood planters. Metal privacy screens and steel or concrete planters are the corresponding noncombustible categories.

Timing: nothing statewide applies yet

As of August 19, 2026, the Board of Forestry has approved the statewide rule and it is not yet in effect: the package still has to clear the Office of Administrative Law, including a five-day public comment period, and be published by the Secretary of State. Staff said they would use the AB 1455 emergency rulemaking path and expected the rules "could become effective as early as September 2026." Once an effective date exists:

One August change to the phasing is worth knowing even though it is not a décor item: roof and gutter debris, provision (b)(2), moved to immediate compliance for existing structures on the effective date, so the three-year tier now reads "(b)(1) and (b)(3)-(4)" rather than "(b)(1)-(4)". The rule applies across State Responsibility Areas (SRA, land where the state handles fire protection) but only in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones within Local Responsibility Areas (LRA, city and county land). Those two tracks are not word for word the same: the SRA text uses "Building or Structure" where the LRA text uses "Occupied Structure," and the potted-plant container rule above is the stricter one in the LRA version. Check whether Zone 0 would apply to your home, and see the timeline and enforcement guide for phases and penalties.

What this means for you

• Nothing statewide requires action today. The regulation is approved but not yet in effect; watch the status tracker for the OAL filing and the effective date.
• The rule does not make you demolish an attached wood pergola. The real work, once it takes effect: keep the area beneath it clear, plan the five-foot vegetation-free buffer at its edge, and remember Zone 0 starts at its posts, metal pergolas now included.
• In Berkeley's two mitigation zones and San Diego's Very High zones, the lists above are current rules, not drafts.
• The cheapest wins are small: swap combustible planters for noncombustible pots meeting the five-gallon and 18-inch terms, and move décor out of the first five feet.
• Walk the first five feet with a list in hand. Our Zone 0 checklist covers every category; the California Zone 0 fencing guide covers the costliest items, fences and gates.