Alpine County, CA Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

Alpine County is overwhelmingly State Responsibility Area in High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, and its fuels-reduction ordinance (Chapter 8.20, Article III) is one of the strongest tools the county has. Section 8.20.080 declares fuels that accumulate on lots to be a public nuisance the owner must abate at their own expense. Section 8.20.090 requires any owner of a building or structure in or adjoining mountainous, forest, brush, grass or other flammable land to maintain defensible space in compliance with California Public Resources Code section 4291 (the statewide 100-foot defensible space law). PRC 4291 calls for clearance to 100 feet around structures, organized into Zone 1 (the first 30 feet, 'lean, clean and green') and Zone 2 (30–100 feet, reduced/spaced fuels), out to the property line. Older County Code section 8.16.050 separately requires at least a 30-foot firebreak around structures on wildland. Critically, section 8.20.100 bridges a gap in state law by addressing 'adjacent lots': where an owner cannot achieve 100 feet of defensible space without encroaching on a neighbor's parcel, and that adjacent lot is in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, the county can require the neighbor to reduce fuels within 100 feet of the structure to the State Board of Forestry guidelines. Fuels reduction must be completed by May 1st for areas below 6,200 feet elevation and June 1st for higher areas. Inspections are carried out by the county's fire inspection official(s) — the elected sheriff and appointed fire chief or their designees — and CAL FIRE/Alpine Fire Safe Council conduct PRC 4291 inspections as well.