Costa Mesa, CA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

The Costa Mesa Fire Department administers wildfire-zone rules through two linked provisions of Title 7. Section 7-14 adopts the 2025 California Fire Code and the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code by reference, as published by the International Code Council and amended by the California Building Standards Commission and the Office of the State Fire Marshal, subject only to the local Fire Code amendments listed later in the chapter. Section 7-16 goes further for the WUI Code specifically: it is adopted 'in its entirety,' and 'there are no local amendments,' meaning Costa Mesa applies the state's ignition-resistant construction, defensible-space and material standards for Wildland-Urban Interface areas exactly as the State Fire Marshal wrote them.

2 sets a Class B fire-retardant roof covering as the baseline for every new roof and every roof replacement covering more than half a structure's area, but that baseline applies only in areas 'other than Fire Hazard Severity Zones or Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)' land, sending FHSZ and WUI parcels instead to the full WUI Code adopted under § 7-16. Which parcels fall inside a zone is fixed by map: the code's own ordinance disposition table lists Ordinance No. 2025-03, adopted June 3, 2025, as a special ordinance 'Designating Local Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the City,' the map Costa Mesa Fire and the building official use to determine which properties must build to WUI standards rather than the baseline Class B roof.