San Clemente, CA Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)
Key Facts
- Clearance width
- 10 feet each side of roadway
- Applies to
- Highways and private streets used for vehicles
- Measured from
- Flow-line or edge of improved roadway
- Exempt
- Single ornamental trees, fire-resistant ground cover
- Enforced by
- Orange County Fire Authority fire code official
- Failure-to-abate penalty
- Misdemeanor (§ 112.4.2)
Summary
The Orange County Fire Authority's fire code official can order flammable vegetation cleared for 10 feet on each side of highways and private streets used for vehicle traffic. Single ornamental trees and fire-resistant ground cover are exempt.
Section 325 CLEARANCE OF BRUSH OR VEGETATION GROWTH FROM ROADWAYS is hereby added as follows: ... 325.1 Clearance of brush or vegetation growth from roadways. The fire code official is authorized to cause areas within 10 feet (3048 mm) on each side of portions of highways and private streets which are improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic, to be cleared of flammable vegetation and other combustible growth. Measurement shall be from the flow-line or the end of the improved edge of the roadway surfaces. Exception: Single specimens of trees, ornamental shrubbery or cultivated ground cover such as green grass, ivy, succulents or similar plants used as ground covers, provided that they do not form a means of readily transmitting fire.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Traffic: Supplement 30 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 66 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
020). 050 adds Fire Code Section 325, Clearance of Brush or Vegetation Growth from Roadways: the fire code official is authorized to require that flammable vegetation and other combustible growth be cleared for 10 feet on each side of highways and private streets that are improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic, with the distance measured from the flow-line or the edge of the improved roadway surface. An exception spares single specimens of trees, ornamental shrubbery, or cultivated ground cover such as green grass, ivy or succulents, as long as they do not form a means of readily transmitting fire.
2, requiring weeds, grass, vines or other ignitable growth to be cut down and removed by the property owner or occupant, and ties clearance in wildland-urban interface and fuel-modification areas to OCFA Guideline C-05. Section 326 lets the fire code official suspend strict clearance requirements for difficult terrain, erosion risk, protected or rare plant species, heritage tree groves, or other unusual circumstances.
Violations & Fines
Violations of the fire code, including the roadway clearance requirement, are penalized under amended Section 112.4: penalties are assessed per the OCFA Prevention Field Services fee schedule, and each day a violation continues after notice is a separate offense. Section 112.4.2 makes permitting a fire or life-safety hazard to exist an infraction, while failing to take immediate action to abate a hazard after being ordered to do so by the fire chief or a representative is a misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much vegetation clearance is required along roadways in San Clemente?
Are any plants exempt from the roadway clearance rule?
Who enforces brush clearance requirements in San Clemente?
What happens if I don't clear brush when ordered?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Clemente
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Brush Clearance in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle brush clearance.