Salem, OR Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

Unlike high-fire-risk California cities, Salem does not impose a citywide 100-foot defensible-space clearance through its own code. Instead, Salem Fire and Code Enforcement rely on SRC Chapter 98 (Public Nuisance) and SRC Chapter 58 (Fire Prevention Code, which adopts the Oregon Fire Code based on the IFC) to require property owners to remove fire hazards, accumulated combustible vegetation, and dry brush. Statewide, the Oregon State Fire Marshal's defensible space program under ORS 477 applies only to properties identified on the Oregon Statewide Wildfire Hazard Map as being in the Wildland-Urban Interface AND in a high or extreme hazard zone. Most parcels inside Salem's urban core are not classified as WUI high-hazard, so state-level defensible space rules do not automatically apply, but rural fringes of Marion and Polk counties around Salem can be. Confirm your property's hazard classification at hazardmap.forestry.oregonstate.edu and confirm any active enforcement action with Salem Code Enforcement at 503-588-6178.