Whittier, CA Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

The CAL FIRE Office of the State Fire Marshal published updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps for the City of Whittier (received by the City March 24, 2025) showing areas mapped as Very High, High, and Moderate fire hazard - principally the hillside/wildland-urban-interface terrain in the Whittier Hills along the Puente Hills. For parcels in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, California Government Code Section 51182 and Public Resources Code Section 4291 require maintaining defensible space of at least 100 feet around structures (or to the property line). The Los Angeles County Fire Department, which provides fire protection to Whittier, administers the Defensible Space Inspection Program jointly with the County Agricultural Commissioner: its annual notice directs property owners to clear flammable vegetation within 30 feet and thin vegetation for the next 70 feet (100 feet total) around any structure, with up to 200 feet required in extra-hazard areas. Tree branches must be kept 5 feet from roofs and 10 feet from chimneys, and 10 feet of clearance maintained along access roads. Whittier also maintains weed-abatement provisions in Municipal Code Chapter 8.24 (Title 8, Health and Safety) for declaring overgrown or hazardous vegetation a nuisance citywide. Flat, fully built-out parts of Whittier outside the FHSZ are not subject to the 100-foot rule but remain subject to nuisance weed-abatement rules.