Palmdale, CA Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

Public Resources Code Section 4291 obligates anyone who owns, leases, controls, operates or maintains a building in a state responsibility area to maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side, front and rear of the structure, though never beyond the property line. A greater distance can be imposed by local ordinance or, for insured dwellings, by an insurer's fire expert, but any fuel modification beyond the property line requires the adjacent owner's written consent. Owners must also remove any tree limb within 10 feet of a chimney or stovepipe outlet, keep trees and shrubs near a building free of dead or dying wood, and keep the roof clear of leaves, needles and other vegetative debris.

Before building or rebuilding a fire-damaged structure requiring a permit, the owner must obtain the local building official's certification of compliance and, after completion, a final inspection report, both of which must be furnished to the insurer on request. The State Fire Marshal may exempt structures built entirely of nonflammable exterior materials, but only once the occupant consents in writing to an interior inspection verifying compliance. 090(A)(1)(l) requires every landscape design plan for a fire-prone project to provide a defensible space or zone around the building per Public Resources Code Section 4291(a) and (b) and to avoid fire-prone plant materials and highly flammable mulches. 400, incorporating Los Angeles County Fire Code Title 32) governs Wildland-Urban Interface construction in those zones.