Merced, CA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted code
- 2025 CA WUI Code, Title 24 Part 7
- WUI effective date
- 12-15-2025, Ord. 2582 §12
- Zones set by
- CAL FIRE, per Govt. Code §51178
- Zone map added
- Ord. 2578, eff. 7-7-2025
- Penalty
- misdemeanor under Sec. 1.12.010
Summary
Merced enforces the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, adopted by reference at Municipal Code Section 17.11.010, for construction in fire-prone areas. Section 17.32.105 separately designates the city's fire hazard severity zones exactly as recommended by CAL FIRE, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, under Government Code Section 51178, mapping where the stricter WUI construction standards apply.
17.11.010 - California Wildland-Urban Interface Code-Adoption. Those certain documents, three (3) certified copies of which are on file in the office of the city clerk, marked and designated as California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 7, "2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code," based off the "2024 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code," as published by the International Code Council for California Building Standards Commission is adopted by reference as the Wildland-Urban Interface Code for the City of Merced. ... 17.32.105 - Fire hazard severity zone map. The city hereby designates the fire hazard severity zones as recommended by the California Department of Forestry protection pursuant to Government code section 51178.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 85 - 1-26).
Full Breakdown
010, added by Ordinance No. 2582, Section 12, effective December 15, 2025. That adoption layers ignition-resistant construction requirements, such as exterior wall and roof assembly standards, ember-resistant vents, and defensible building-envelope details, on top of the base Residential and Building Codes for structures located within the zones the city maps. 105 of the Fire Code performs that mapping function: the city hereby designates the fire hazard severity zones as recommended by the California Department of Forestry protection pursuant to Government code section 51178, adopted by Ordinance No.
2578, Section 1, effective July 7, 2025. In practice this means Merced does not draw its own hazard boundaries; it adopts whatever zones CAL FIRE has mapped under the state's Fire Hazard Severity Zone program for the city's jurisdiction, and those boundaries in turn trigger which parcels must comply with the WUI Code's added building standards on new construction, additions, and reroofing. Both chapters sit inside Title 17, Buildings and Construction, alongside the city's Building, Residential, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing and Fire Codes, so a wildfire-zone property owner pulling any building permit is checked against both the base construction code and the WUI Code overlay before permits issue.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 17.11 has no standalone penalty clause, so a WUI Code violation falls under Section 1.12.010's citywide default: any violation of this code is a misdemeanor unless designated an infraction, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense. Under Section 1.12.020, that carries a fine up to $1,000, up to one year in the Merced County jail, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Merced have its own wildfire building code?
Who decides which Merced properties are in a fire hazard severity zone?
What happens if I build in a Merced WUI zone without meeting the code?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Merced
California rules heatmap·Compare Merced to another location·View the California fire regulations overview
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