Most of unincorporated Placer County is mapped by CAL FIRE and the Placer County Fire Department as Moderate, High, or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ). Properties in High or Very High zones must comply with Chapter 7A Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) building standards and 100-foot defensible space.
California's 2025 statewide FHSZ update added or expanded Very High zones across foothill and Sierra portions of Placer County, including communities near Foresthill, Colfax, Meadow Vista, Auburn, Newcastle, and the Lake Tahoe basin. The Placer County Fire Hazard Severity Zone map applies only to unincorporated areas; cities adopt their own FHSZ maps. New construction and substantial renovations in High or Very High FHSZ must comply with the California Building Code Chapter 7A WUI requirements (ignition-resistant exteriors, ember-resistant vents, Class A roofs, enclosed eaves). Defensible space to PRC §4291 (100 feet) is mandatory in any State Responsibility Area or Very High FHSZ in a Local Responsibility Area. Disclosure to buyers is required under Cal. Civ. Code §1103. Insurance availability under the California FAIR Plan is increasingly tied to FHSZ status.
Building without WUI-compliant assemblies in a designated FHSZ is a Building Code violation enforced by Placer County Building Services. Defensible-space non-compliance is enforced under Placer County Code Chapter 9.32 and CAL FIRE.
Placer County, CA
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Placer County, CA
Placer County Code Section 9.36.030 exempts construction noise from the County's general noise standards between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Monday through Frida...
Placer County, CA
Unincorporated Placer County regulates noise under Placer County Code Chapter 9, Article 9.36. Daytime (7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.) exterior sound at residentia...
Placer County, CA
Placer County Code Article 10.24 implements California Vehicle Code §§22660 and 22669, authorizing the County to remove abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or in...
Placer County, CA
Placer County Code Section 17.54.030 sets fence height limits in the RA, RF, RM, RS, C1, HS, and INP zoning districts. Within the front setback, fences are l...
Placer County, CA
Placer County's beekeeping ordinance (Placer County Code 17.56.050.G, adopted 2021) allows hobbyist beekeeping countywide subject to setbacks of at least 50 ...
See how Placer County's wildfire zones rules stack up against other locations.
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