Wildfire Zones: Sutter vs Yuba City

Is my Sutter County property in a fire hazard severity zone?

Check the Office of the State Fire Marshal's Fire Hazard Severity Zone map viewer, which covers both State Responsibility Areas and the Local Responsibility Area maps released in early 2025. In Sutter County, elevated hazard areas are concentrated around the Sutter Buttes; most of the agricultural valley floor is not in a designated zone.

What does the 100-foot defensible space requirement involve?

PRC section 4291 requires maintaining defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure, but not beyond the property line, on covered lands in State Responsibility Areas. It also requires removing any portion of a tree that extends within 10 feet of a chimney or stovepipe outlet and keeping roofs free of leaves and needles.

Is my Yuba City home in a fire hazard severity zone?

Almost certainly no. Yuba City's incorporated area is on the Sacramento Valley floor and is not designated Moderate, High, or Very High on the Office of the State Fire Marshal's 2025 LRA Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps. Confirm by entering your address in the official OSFM FHSZ Viewer.

Do I need to disclose fire hazard zone when selling my home?

Generally no for Yuba City properties. AB 38 (Gov Code Section 51182) requires fire-hardening disclosures only when selling a home in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Yuba City parcels are not in those zones, so the AB 38 disclosure form is typically not required.

Why are foothill parts of Yuba County rated Very High but Yuba City is not?

FHSZ ratings reflect fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and wind. The Sacramento Valley floor at Yuba City has low slope, irrigated/urbanized landscape, and limited wildland fuel. Foothill Yuba County (Brownsville, Dobbins, Loma Rica) sits in SRA wildland with chaparral and oak woodland that earns High and Very High ratings.