Orange County is not one fire department. OCFA covers most cities and the unincorporated canyons. Anaheim, Placentia, Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa, and Huntington Beach run their own. As of September 19, 2026 there is no statewide Zone 0 regulation in force. Here is what is Required now, Proposed — not in force, and Recommended now.
Enter your address to check it against the CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone map. The same check helps show whether you sit in OCFA territory or a city with its own fire department. County-level overlays take precedence over the statewide map where one applies.
Is this real?
CAL FIRE's 2025 remap didn't nibble at the edges. It rewrote the county's fire map. Buena Park, Laguna Hills, and Placentia were classified Very High for the first time. Anaheim Hills' existing Very High zone grew by roughly 300 acres. And a south-county cluster from Yorba Linda to San Clemente was confirmed in the Very High tier.
The canyon country
The Santiago Fire burned 28,445 acres through these canyons in 2007. The Bond Fire burned 6,686 acres through nearly the same communities in 2020 and forced 25,000 people out. These seven communities are where the first five feet matters most in Orange County, even while statewide Zone 0 remains proposed.
City by city
Fourteen cities carry confirmed Very High zones. Two more, Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach, were newly mapped in 2025 at the Moderate and High tiers only. Each page below covers that city's actual designation, its own fire authority, and its own fire record. No padding, no copied pages.
What must I do?
The first five feet is the highest-leverage prevention step, whether or not a local Zone 0 rule is in force. Combustible fences and gates that touch the house, bark mulch against the foundation, woody shrubs under windows, and firewood on the patio. Trash and recycling containers and outdoor cushions in that ring are Recommended now. Read the local status, or start with fences and gates and landscaping.
Who enforces it?
Your local Authority Having Jurisdiction is the headline. There is no statewide Zone 0 regulation in force. For most Orange County cities and all of the unincorporated canyons, that's OCFA. Five cities run their own departments: Anaheim Fire & Rescue, Placentia Fire and Life Safety, Laguna Beach Fire, Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue, and Huntington Beach Fire. Those five are independent of OCFA. Your city's page names yours.
Questions
That is the first question. OCFA serves most Orange County cities and all of the unincorporated Santa Ana Mountain canyons. Five cities run their own departments and are not OCFA: Anaheim Fire & Rescue, Placentia Fire and Life Safety, Laguna Beach Fire, Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue, and Huntington Beach Fire. Check your address on this page.
No countywide existing-home Zone 0 ordinance is cited here. OCFA Vegetation Management Guideline C-05 (January 1, 2026) treats the first 5 feet of Zone A as the Immediate Zone for new-construction fuel-modification plans: a plan-review guideline, not an existing-home mandate. The December 2025 Immediate Zone flyer is education: Recommended now, not Required now for existing homes. Required now is existing defensible space.
As of September 19, 2026 there is no statewide Zone 0 regulation in force. The Board of Forestry emergency filing (OAL 2026-0828-03E) was withdrawn September 8, 2026. AB 3074 directed the state to create an ember-resistant zone; that is not a current statewide rule requiring Zone 0 to be kept clear. Existing defensible-space law still applies: PRC section 4291 and Government Code section 51182, plus local defensible-space rules. There is no 2027 to 2028 statewide compliance clock. Local required, proposed, and recommended items are labeled on this site.
Submit your address and we will follow up about which local rules apply to your parcel, what your fire authority will look for, and what an inspection would document.
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