Rancho Cucamonga, CA Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)
Key Facts
- State authority
- PRC 4291, 100 feet defensible space
- Zone 0 (0 to 5 ft)
- Ember-resistant, no combustibles (AB 3074)
- Zone 1 (5 to 30 ft)
- Lean, clean, green, irrigated, no dead material
- Zone 2 (30 to 100 ft)
- Grasses cut to 4 inches, spaced trees
- Inspection program
- Annual RCFPD Hazard Reduction Inspection each spring
Summary
Properties in or near the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone must clear 100 feet of defensible space under PRC 4291. Rancho Cucamonga inspects foothill parcels annually and can abate noncompliant properties.
4291. (a) A person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in the state responsibility area shall at all times do all of the following:
(1) (A) Maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure, but not beyond the property line, except as provided in subparagraph (B). The amount of fuel modification necessary shall consider the flammability of the structure as affected by building material, building standards, location, and type of vegetation. Fuels shall be maintained and spaced in a condition so that a wildfire would be unlikely to ignite the structure. This subparagraph does not apply to single specimens of trees or other vegetation that are well-pruned and maintained so as to effectively manage fuels and not form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from other nearby vegetation to a structure or from a structure to other nearby vegetation or to interrupt the advance of embers toward a structure. The intensity of fuels management may vary within the 100-foot perimeter of the structure, with more intense fuel reductions being utilized between 5 and 30 feet around the structure, and an ember-resistant zone being required within 5 feet of the structure, based on regulations promulgated by the board, in consultation with the department, to consider the elimination of materials in the ember-resistant zone that would likely be ignited by embers.
(2) Remove that portion of a tree that extends within 10 feet of the outlet of a chimney or stovepipe.
(3) Maintain a tree, shrub, or other plant adjacent to or overhanging a building free of dead or dying wood.
(4) Maintain the roof of a structure free of leaves, needles, or other vegetative materials.
Full Breakdown
Rancho Cucamonga enforces California Public Resources Code 4291 defensible space requirements on all parcels within the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ), which covers much of the northside above Banyan Street, Etiwanda, the Day Creek corridor, and neighborhoods abutting the San Bernardino National Forest. Under PRC 4291 and RCFPD standards, property owners must maintain 100 feet of defensible space around every structure, divided into Zone 0 (0 to 5 feet, ember-resistant and non-combustible per AB 3074), Zone 1 (5 to 30 feet, lean clean and green with irrigated ornamentals and no dead material), and Zone 2 (30 to 100 feet, reduced fuel with grasses cut to 4 inches and trees spaced per canopy rules).
The Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District conducts an annual Hazard Reduction Inspection Program each spring, typically mailing notices in April with reinspection by early summer. Owners who fail to comply receive a compliance deadline, followed by abatement by a contractor with costs plus administrative fees placed as a lien against the property. Weeds, dead palm fronds, and flammable debris must also be removed from parkways and hillside slopes. The city separately mandates chimney spark arrestors, Class A roofing for replacements in VHFHSZ, and ember-resistant vents on new construction per California Building Code Chapter 7A.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my property in the VHFHSZ?
What happens if I miss the brush clearance deadline?
Is Zone 0 actively enforced in Rancho Cucamonga?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rancho Cucamonga
California rules heatmap·Compare Rancho Cucamonga to another location·View the California fire regulations overview
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