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

Section 38A-5 of the Butte County Code of Ordinances imposes an affirmative duty on anyone who owns, leases, controls, operates or maintains a parcel in the unincorporated area: create firebreaks wherever a fire hazard exists to slow or stop the spread of fire. The chapter grew out of the 2018 Camp Fire and the 2020 North Complex Fire, both cited in the Board of Supervisors' findings at Section 38A-2 as catastrophic losses the ordinance is meant to prevent from repeating. Maintaining a parcel out of compliance is declared both a public nuisance and unlawful, and the condition is treated as a separate offense for every day it persists.

The specific firebreak standards a landowner must meet sit in the companion section, 38A-6, which sets Zone 0, Zone 1 and Zone 2 vegetation clearance distances. Section 38A-5 is the enforcement backbone: it lets the Fire Chief, working with the Department of Development Services Code Enforcement Division, cite violators. Before a citation issues, the Fire Chief can first send a Notice to Abate Fire Hazard giving the owner at least thirty days to comply under Section 38A-7; if the owner still refuses, the county can post a 72-hour notice, refer the matter to a hearing officer, and ultimately abate the hazard itself and bill the owner for the abatement and administrative costs under Sections 38A-8 and 38A-9. Citations may be served personally, by posting and mailing, or by mail alone, and service is deemed complete even if the violator never actually receives it. A hearing officer may also award an administrative civil penalty of up to $1,000 in addition to the criminal fines under Section 38A-5.