Fresno County, CA Environmental Rules: Defensible Space (2026)

Chapter 8.80 applies only to a defined strip of unincorporated land: parcels between Highway 99 and Highway 41 running south from the centerline of the San Joaquin River to the Fresno city limits, plus 18 specifically listed Assessor's Parcel Numbers (§ 8.80.010). Within that area, § 8.80.030 requires every owner, lessee, or occupant to 'maintain a firebreak by removing and clearing away dangerous accumulation of flammable vegetation and other combustible growth within thirty feet of each inhabited dwelling and structure,' seasonally, from April 15 through September 30.

The requirement does not force removal of well-pruned single specimen trees or vegetation that does not spread fire, nor does it apply to habitat for endangered or threatened species, land kept in a natural wildlife state, environmentally sensitive open space, cultivated agricultural or grazing land, or grass kept four inches or shorter for erosion control (§ 8.80.030(C)). No one is required to clear land they lack the legal right to clear (§ 8.80.030(B)). Section 8.80.040 separately declares it 'unlawful and a public nuisance' to maintain flammable vegetation within 30 feet of an occupied dwelling that blocks the firebreak, or within 10 feet of a propane tank.

Enforcement runs through the 'legally authorized fire official' under § 8.80.050, defined in § 8.80.020(G) to include district fire chiefs, CAL FIRE officers, and U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service officers, following that agency's own procedures. Ordinance No. 10-018, adopted September 14, 2010, created this chapter.