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

Siskiyou County is heavily forested mountain country — including Mt. Shasta and the Marble Mountains — with a severe wildfire history (the 2014 Boles Fire in Weed, the 2021 Lava and McFarland fires, and the 2022 Mill and Mountain fires). The State Fire Marshal maps Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) across both the State Responsibility Area (SRA), where CAL FIRE has primary wildfire-protection responsibility, and Local Responsibility Areas. FHSZ classifications (moderate, high, and very high) are based on fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and wind-driven fire spread. In 2025 the county received updated Local Responsibility Area FHSZ designations from the State Fire Marshal and opened a public-comment period; under Government Code Sections 51178, 51178.5, and 51179, the county cannot reduce a state FHSZ classification but may increase designations or add areas. Living in a designated zone triggers concrete obligations: defensible space under PRC 4291 (100 feet around structures), Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) construction standards under the California Building/Residential and WUI codes the county has adopted, and natural-hazard disclosure on property sales. The county also maintains fire-control and fire-hazard regulations in Title 3, Chapter 3 of the County Code. Residents can confirm a parcel's zone using CAL FIRE's interactive FHSZ map.