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

Kern County Ordinance Code Chapter 17.34 adopts the 2021 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (with Appendices A and C), as amended, as the Kern County Wildland-Urban Interface Code, enforced by the Kern County Fire Department with the Fire Chief as code official (Ordinance G-9179, adopted November 8, 2022). Under amended section 302.1, wildland-urban interface areas include any land covered with grass, grain, brush, or forest so situated that a fire would present an abnormally difficult suppression job, and the boundaries of the Hazardous Fire Area include geographic areas identified by the state as Fire Hazard Severity Zones under Public Resources Code sections 4201-4204 and Government Code sections 51175-51189. The code official must reevaluate WUI areas every five years, and one- and two-family dwellings in WUI areas must have a minimum fire flow of 500 gallons per minute for 30 minutes (amended section 404.5). Separately, in April 2025 Kern County published updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for Local Responsibility Areas for public review; under Senate Bill 63 (2021), counties must adopt all three classifications (Moderate, High, and Very High) by ordinance. Owners in High or Very High LRA zones and all SRA zones must maintain 100-foot defensible space (Government Code section 51182), follow Wildland-Urban Interface building standards (California Building Code Chapter 7A), and disclose the zone designation when selling property.