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

Colusa County Code Chapter 7A 'Weed Abatement' governs vegetation clearance in unincorporated areas. Section 7A-3 requires every owner of a vacant or improved lot, before the annual 'plow down date,' to remove all weeds over three inches high from a strip of land 50 feet wide surrounding the entire exterior of any improvement (or up to the property line if the improvement is within 50 feet of it). For vacant lots abutting an improved lot, owners must clear to the extent a 50-foot clearance from the structure exists. Removal may be done 'by discing, rototilling, mowing, plowing, cutting or any other method, except burning.' The 'plow down date' is set each year by a majority vote of the county fire chiefs association based on soil and climate conditions. The fire district notifies owners by mail 21 days before the plow-down date and publishes notice in a newspaper. Separately, because most of the unincorporated county is State Responsibility Area, California Public Resources Code 4291 requires maintaining defensible space of 100 feet from each side, front and rear of a structure (but not beyond the property line), with more intense fuel reduction within 30 feet and an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet. CAL FIRE's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit inspects and enforces PRC 4291 in SRA.