Tacoma requires property owners to keep grass, brush, and dead vegetation cleared around homes and structures so that fire crews can access buildings and reduce wildfire risk along the city's gulches and forested edges.
Tacoma Fire Department and city code enforcement use property maintenance and fire code provisions to require clearance of dry grass, dead branches, and accumulated brush near structures. Properties along Tacoma's many gulches, near Point Defiance, and adjacent to greenbelts get extra attention because steep terrain spreads fire quickly. Owners typically must keep grass under a height limit, maintain defensible space within roughly thirty feet of structures, and remove ladder fuels that allow ground fire to climb into tree canopies. Tacoma Fire conducts seasonal outreach during dry months and may issue warnings followed by abatement, where the city clears vegetation and bills the owner.
Allowing tall dry grass, dead trees near buildings, or accumulated brush in greenbelts can trigger property maintenance citations, mandatory abatement at the owner's expense, and increased fire department inspections.
Tacoma, WA
Tacoma's mix of urban density and forested gulches creates pockets of elevated wildfire risk, and homeowners near Point Defiance, Mount Rainier highway corri...
Tacoma, WA
Open burning is prohibited in Tacoma under Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) regulations and city fire code. Recreational fires in approved containers are...
Tacoma, WA
Tacoma requires property owners to maintain vegetation under the city's nuisance and property maintenance codes. Overgrown grass and weeds that create a nuis...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in this county.
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