Defensible space rules in Sonora and Tuolumne County, explained

What does California's defensible space law ask for?

Public Resources Code 4291 is the state's defensible space law. If you own or rent a building in the State Responsibility Area, which covers most of rural Tuolumne County, you keep 100 feet cleared on every side, but not past your property line. Government Code 51182 sets the same rule in a city's Very High fire hazard zone.

• Keep the roof free of leaves and needles.
• Remove any part of a tree within 10 feet of a chimney or stovepipe.
• Keep trees and shrubs next to or over the house free of dead wood.
• Cut the most fuel between 5 and 30 feet from the house.
• Single trees and plants can stay if they are well pruned.

Is Zone 0 the law yet?

No. Zone 0 is the ember-resistant strip in the first 5 feet around a house. State law says it is coming once the Board of Forestry's rules are approved, but the Board pulled its rules back first. CAL FIRE still calls Zone 0 "not legally required yet."

1. August 19, 2026The Board of Forestry voted 8 to 0 to adopt emergency Zone 0 rules.
2. August 28, 2026The rules went to the Office of Administrative Law for review.
3. September 8, 2026The rules were withdrawn, for technical fixes per one news report, with no date to return.

The withdrawn version kept the first 5 feet free of wood mulch, leaves, needles and firewood, and gave existing homes 3 to 5 years. It may change when it returns.

Clearing it now can still earn an insurance discount. Our guide Is Zone 0 law in California yet? follows the rule as it changes.

What extra rules apply inside Sonora city limits?

Inside Sonora city limits, the city's Chapter 8.12 goes further than state law. It covers every lot, built on or not, asks for dead grass cut to 2 inches instead of 4, and asks for a 10-foot strip of reduced fuel along every property line that borders a building or a driveway. Sonora Fire inspects every year.

• Within 30 feet: tree limbs off to 6 feet or a third of the tree's height, whichever is less.
• From 30 to 100 feet: CAL FIRE's spacing, grass at 2 inches, and litter no deeper than 2 inches (the state allows 3).
• Brush under trees cut to 18 inches, and 10 feet cleared around propane tanks.
• Lots over an acre, or hard to work, follow a plan set by the Fire Chief.
• Lawns, trees and shrubs of normal growth can stay.

What does Tuolumne County Chapter 8.14 add?

Outside Sonora city limits, Tuolumne County's Chapter 8.14, passed in 2022, covers every parcel and, the county says, goes beyond CAL FIRE's law. It adds clearance along drives and roads, and clearing on vacant lots near a neighbor's home.

• Drives and roads: 15 feet of clearance overhead and a 10-foot strip of reduced fuel from the road edge.
• Vacant lots: reduced fuel on any part within 100 feet of a building on the next parcel.
• Left out: healthy mature trees, crops, orchards, timber, stream banks and slopes over 30 percent.

County Fire Prevention enforces it and can clear an ignored lot, then bill the owner. Fire Prevention Division: 48 W. Yaney Ave., Sonora, (209) 533-5118.

Who inspects, and what happens if you fail?

Inside Sonora city limits, Sonora Fire inspects every year. Elsewhere, CAL FIRE's Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit inspects for the state law and County Fire Prevention enforces Chapter 8.14. CAL FIRE first shows you what to fix, then comes back. Citations come only if the work is still not done.

Fix it before the court sets a fine and the fine may drop to $50. If an owner never does the work, the State Fire Marshal can have it done and put the cost on the property as a lien.

CAL FIRE's dashboard lists 2,315 Tuolumne County inspections, 1,149 marked compliant, over an unstated time span. No inspection calendar is published, so clear before your notice date.

Is your home in a Very High fire hazard zone?

If you live in Sonora, probably. On the state's 2025 map, downtown Sonora is in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Zones change parcel by parcel, so look up your own address. A Very High zone brings the 100-foot rule into city limits, and High or Very High triggers AB 38 when you sell.

Selling a house: what does AB 38 ask for?

AB 38, in Civil Code 1102.19, ties defensible space to a home sale. Since July 1, 2021, a seller in a High or Very High fire hazard zone must give the buyer a record that the property meets the rules. Without one, buyer and seller sign an agreement and the buyer gets it done within a year of closing.

• Which homes: High and Very High zones in the State Responsibility Area. In a city, Very High for sure, and ask Sonora Fire about High.
• How old the record can be: up to six months.
• Who inspects: Sonora Fire inside city limits, otherwise a local agency or CAL FIRE.

Clear before the inspection so the report comes back clean. Our guide to the AB 38 defensible space inspection walks through it.

Can you burn the brush you cut?

Not right now. CAL FIRE suspended residential burning below 3,500 feet on May 25, 2026 and everywhere on June 15, 2026. As of October 17, 2026 we found no notice lifting it; last year it lifted on October 17, 2025. Call the Burn Line at (209) 533-5598 before you burn.

• A permit from the county air district and one from CAL FIRE.
• Piles 4 feet across or smaller, with 10 feet of bare dirt around them, and an adult with water and a shovel watching.
• Only dry plants from your own property, best burned between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• Never poison oak. Its oil travels in the smoke.

Does clearing help with your insurance?

It can, but no one can promise what an insurer will do. Under California's Safer from Wildfires rules, defensible space that meets state and local law earns a discount, and so does a 5-foot ember-resistant zone. The size depends on the insurer.

• Ask your insurer for your wildfire risk score. They must give it, and you can appeal it.
• After the work, tell your insurer. They may ask for proof or send an inspector.
• On the FAIR Plan, all 12 wildfire discounts may take up to 16.4 percent off the wildfire part of the premium.

How we clear to these rules

We are a local brush clearing crew, not an inspector. We clear to the inspectors' checklist and the city or county rule at your address, then send you photos of each zone.

• For a home, our defensible space clearing service covers the full 100 feet, zone by zone, with photos for your insurer or your sale.
• For overgrown ground, brush clearing cuts manzanita, blackberry, poison oak and small trees, then chips or hauls them.
• For a vacant parcel or acreage, lot clearing covers the county's vacant lot rule and Sonora's 10-foot strips.
• We cut with plastic line, not metal blades, so no sparks fly off rocks, and keep water on site.
• We work across the county; see every town we serve in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties.