The tracker
Zone 0 status: adopted, not yet in effect
The short version
- Adopted. The Board of Forestry approved the statewide Zone 0 regulation on August 19, 2026, six years after AB 3074 mandated it.
- Not in effect yet. The package still needs Office of Administrative Law review, including a five-day public comment period, and publication by the Secretary of State. Until that finishes there is no effective date, and no statewide compliance clock is running.
- Nothing is due from you today. Every deadline in the rule counts forward from an effective date that does not exist yet. For existing homes, fences sit in the last phase: three years, or up to five on a local fire agency's timeline.
- Six places have their own Zone 0 rules in force right now, and those are unaffected by the state's timing: Ventura County FPD (new buildings since 2019; full zone March 2025), Laguna Beach (2021), Moraga-Orinda Fire District (2023), Auburn (2024), Berkeley (2026), and the City of San Diego (2026, existing-home deadlines from February 2027).
- The insurance credit is separate and already binding. Since October 2022, insurers that price for wildfire risk must credit noncombustible fences and gates within five feet. Details here.
Where the statewide rule stands
AB 3074 mandated Zone 0, the ember-resistant zone covering the first five feet around a structure, back in 2020. The statute only takes effect through regulations from the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, and on August 19, 2026 the Board approved them. Press coverage of the meeting: "The board approved the final draft of its first-in-the-nation 'Zone 0' defensible-space regulations on Wednesday, which are intended to reduce the risk that wind-driven embers will ignite homes during wildfires."
Getting here took two missed schedules. Governor Newsom's Executive Order N-18-25 ordered the rulemaking finished by December 31, 2025; the Board declined to vote that December and paused work into early 2026. A revised draft went through an April 17, 2026 release and a July 23, 2026 workshop before the August package.
Adopted is not the same as in effect
This is the distinction that matters this week, and most coverage blurs it. The Board's approval starts the next stage rather than ending the process:
| Stage | Status |
|---|---|
| Board of Forestry approval | Done, August 19, 2026 |
| Office of Administrative Law review (includes a five-day public comment period) | Next |
| Publication by the Secretary of State | Pending |
| Effective date, which every compliance deadline counts from | Not set |
Staff said they would submit an emergency rulemaking package to the Office of Administrative Law immediately after approval. The Board's own July memo describes what happens next: "Under the emergency rulemaking provisions established by Assembly Bill 1455 (2025), OAL will conduct an expedited review to determine whether the regulations satisfy the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. Following the public comment period, an upon OAL approval and filing with the Secretary of State, the regulations would become effective immediately. Assuming the anticipated review timeline, staff expect the regulations could become effective as early as September 2026." We will post the effective date here the day it is set, and not before.
Two things we are not going to tell you, because they have not been published: the vote count, and whether anything was amended on the floor. Coverage reports that a vote happened and does not mention amendments. That is not the same as confirmation, and we will wait for the certified text rather than guess.
On scale, NPR put it this way: "The rules will apply to new construction right away, but will be phased in for existing structures, affecting almost 2 million homes in high-risk areas." And on how far off the deep end of the clock sits: "For existing homes, the new vegetation rules will go into effect in 2029 at the earliest."
So the honest answer to "do I have to do something now?" is no, not because of the state rule. What is genuinely live today is your local ordinance if you have one, and the insurance credit, which has been binding on insurers since 2022.
The timeline so far
- 2020: AB 3074 signed. Public Resources Code §4291 now requires an ember-resistant zone "based on regulations promulgated by the board."
- November 5, 2021: Laguna Beach’s Zone 0 defensible space guideline (Ordinance 1664) takes effect for existing structures in its Very High zone.
- October 14, 2022: "Safer from Wildfires" insurance regulation operative: insurers pricing wildfire risk must credit noncombustible fences and gates within 5 feet.
- March 17, 2023: Moraga-Orinda Fire District adopts its all-structures local Zone 0. (Ventura County’s fire district has required Zone 0 for new buildings since April 2019.)
- January 2025: Palisades and Eaton fires. IBHS surveyors later find more than 95% of examined parcels had a fence, most of them wood.
- February 6, 2025: Executive Order N-18-25 orders rulemaking done by December 31, 2025.
- March 1, 2025: Ventura County FPD’s full noncombustible Zone 0 takes effect for new buildings, additions, and new landscaping.
- December 2025: The Board declines to vote and pauses work. The deadline passes.
- February 28, 2026: San Diego's ordinance takes effect for new structures.
- April 17, 2026: Revised state draft released.
- July 23, 2026: July draft workshop. Two fence-relevant changes: "parallel" fences added to the new-fence prohibition, and "noncombustible" formally defined as passing ASTM E136.
- August 19, 2026: The Board of Forestry approved the statewide Zone 0 regulation. Six years after AB 3074, and eight months after the executive-order deadline it missed.
- Next: Office of Administrative Law review, including a five-day public comment period, then publication by the Secretary of State. Staff expected the emergency path could make the rules effective as early as September 2026. No date is set.
- February 28, 2027: San Diego's existing-structures phase begins, independent of the state rule.
- Effective date + 3 years: For existing homes, the phase covering fences, gates, outbuildings and vegetation buffers, or up to five years on a local fire agency's timeline. New construction complies from the effective date.
What the adopted rule requires for fences
| Situation | Under the adopted rule (once effective) |
|---|---|
| Fence or gate attached to the structure, or within 1 foot of it | First 5 feet must be noncombustible |
| New fence within 5 feet, whether attached or parallel | Must be noncombustible |
| Full replacement of a fence within Zone 0 | Must be noncombustible |
| Existing fence passing through Zone 0, not attached | May remain |
| Repair of an existing combustible fence | May use combustible materials |
| Anything more than 5 feet from the structure | Not affected |
One correction worth flagging: the Local Responsibility Area text and the State Responsibility Area text are not identical. The explicit ban on new parallel combustible fencing appears only in the LRA version. Full section-by-section breakdown: the Zone 0 fence rules, decoded. What counts as noncombustible (and why vinyl fails): the materials guide.
Where Zone 0 is already law
| Jurisdiction | In force since | Fence provisions |
|---|---|---|
| Ventura County Fire Protection District | Apr 1, 2019 (new buildings) · Mar 1, 2025 (full zone) | Noncombustible Zone 0 incl. fencing/gates for new construction and new landscaping; some existing-landscape restrictions |
| City of Laguna Beach | November 5, 2021 | Zone 0 guideline for existing structures in the Very High zone (~85% of the city) |
| Moraga-Orinda Fire District | March 17, 2023 | Zone 0 = 0–5 ft from any structure, attached deck or outbuilding |
| City of Auburn | July 10, 2024 | New construction: perpendicular/touching fence sections noncombustible for 5 ft |
| City of Berkeley ("EMBER") | January 1, 2026 | Combustible fencing and gates prohibited within 5 ft in hillside zones |
| City of San Diego | Feb 28, 2026 (new) · Feb 28, 2027 (existing) | 5-ft noncombustible transitional span where attached; parallel fuel-pathway fencing prohibited |
Deep dives: San Diego's real deadlines · every local ordinance in force. Note the City of Los Angeles is moving the other way: toward more lenient rules on vegetation, though not on fences.
What's already binding everywhere: the insurance rule
Separate from Zone 0, California's "Safer from Wildfires" regulation (10 CCR §2644.9) has required insurers that price for wildfire risk to credit noncombustible fences and gates within five feet of the home since October 2022. It binds insurers, not homeowners. But it is the first of twelve measures on the certification forms carriers use, and it is why documenting a fence upgrade matters regardless of when the state rule takes effect. How the fence credit works · how to document the work.
What should you do now that it has passed?
Nothing panicked, and nothing on a deadline: the rule is not in effect, and fences sit in the last compliance phase even once it is. If your fence or gate touches your house, this is a good moment to get the five-foot span quoted and documented, because it already earns the insurance measure that has been binding since 2022. Start with the guide, or talk to a contractor who knows the rule.
Read the complete guide Or get matched with a Zone 0-ready fencing contractor.Frequently asked questions
Is Zone 0 the law in California right now?
It is adopted but not yet in effect. The Board of Forestry approved the regulation on August 19, 2026, and it still has to clear Office of Administrative Law review and Secretary of State publication before any compliance clock starts. Zone 0 is enforceable today in six local jurisdictions: the Ventura County Fire Protection District, Laguna Beach, the Moraga-Orinda Fire District, Auburn, Berkeley's hillside zones, and the City of San Diego.
When does it actually take effect?
No date is set. The package goes to the Office of Administrative Law for expedited review under AB 1455, including a five-day public comment period, and then to the Secretary of State. Staff expected it could become effective as early as September 2026. Once effective, new construction complies immediately; existing homes get a phased runway, with fences in the last phase: three years, or up to five on a local fire agency's timeline.
Will I have to tear out my wood fence?
No. The adopted rule does not require wholesale replacement. Existing fences may remain and may be repaired with like materials. The requirement lands on the five feet where a fence or gate attaches to (or comes within a foot of) the house, on new fences within five feet, and on full replacements in that zone. Myths vs. the actual rule.
How do I know if my home is covered?
All of the State Responsibility Area is covered, every hazard class; inside Local Responsibility Areas, only Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Check your address step by step.
Sources
- Board of Forestry: Defensible Space Zones 0, 1 and 2
- July 2026 Draft Zone Zero Summary and Rule Text
- Executive Order N-18-25
- AB 3074 (2020)
- City of San Diego: Zone 0 Guidelines for Existing Structures
- Moraga-Orinda Fire District: Zone Zero
- City of Auburn: AMC §10087(D)
- Berkeley Municipal Code Ch. 19.49
- CDI: Safer from Wildfires