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

Modoc County is high-desert sagebrush and forested Warner Mountain land with documented wildfire risk, including the 2021 fire season. The county addresses wildfire hazard directly in Modoc County Code Chapter 8.31, 'Modoc County Hazard Severity Zone Designations' (Section 8.31.010, Ord. 298-A, 2008). That section adopts the fire hazard severity maps and future maps issued by the Director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection under Public Resources Code Sections 4201, 4202, 4203, and 4204, and implements PRC Sections 4290 and 4291. Specifically, it applies the California Code of Regulations Title 14, Division 1.5, Chapter 7, Subchapter 2, Articles 1 through 5 fire-safe standards in State Responsibility Area (SRA) lands, and applies the PRC 4291 defensible-space vegetation clearance requirements in Local Responsibility Area lands designated Very High (VH) severity. On the construction side, Modoc County Code Section 15.06.350 requires that all new dwellings comply with the 'Materials and Construction Methods for Exterior Wildfire Exposure' requirements in Chapter 7A of the California Building Code and/or Section R337 of the California Residential Code (or successor chapters), and comply with the defensible-space requirements of PRC 4290; that section also states that residential fire sprinklers are not required in limited-density rural dwellings. Together these rules mean buildings in mapped high-hazard areas must use ignition-resistant materials, meet the SRA fire-safe road, water, and access standards, and keep cleared defensible space.