Rancho Cucamonga, CA Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

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.