Alpine County, CA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

Alpine County is high-elevation forested Sierra terrain, and CAL FIRE classifies essentially the entire county as State Responsibility Area in High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, with federal lands (Humboldt-Toiyabe and Stanislaus National Forests) and BLN/BLM ground making up much of the rest. Two county code provisions reflect these designations. First, County Code Chapter 15.12 adopts the Public Resources Code section 4290 'Fire Safe Regulations for State Responsibility Areas' (CCR Title 14, sections 1270.00–1276.04), which set minimum standards for road widths, signage, water supply and defensible space for new parcels and new construction in the SRA; the county amended section 1275.10 to require static water systems of at least 2,500 gallons (with freeze protection) or a fee in lieu for new qualifying construction (section 15.12.020). Second, the fuels-reduction ordinance (section 8.20.100) expressly applies its adjacent-lot fuel-reduction requirement only where the adjacent lot is 'located within a very high or high fire hazard severity zone as defined in the most recent California Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map adopted by CAL FIRE.' The county is protected by CAL FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service, and local fire agencies (Eastern Alpine Fire and Rescue in Markleeville, Bear Valley Fire Department, and Kirkwood Fire Department). The 2021 Tamarack Fire, ignited by lightning on July 4, 2021, burned about 68,600 acres and forced evacuation of Markleeville, Woodfords, and Alpine Village, destroying multiple structures — underscoring why SRA fire-safe regulations and defensible space are critical.