Monterey Park, CA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

The Monterey Park City Council adopted the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, 2025 Edition, as published in California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 7, by reference under Government Code Section 50022.9 at Monterey Park Municipal Code Section 17.03.010. That code governs construction, defensible space, and ignition-resistant materials for property in or near mapped Fire Hazard Severity Zones. The city reinforced that framework in its Building Code amendments: Section 16.05.020 replaces the standard roof-covering table with a citywide requirement of Class A fire-retardant roofing, and its amended Section 1505.1.2 specifically addresses roof coverings 'within all other areas other than Fire Hazard Severity Zones or a Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI),' requiring Class A covering on every new structure, every existing structure getting more than 50 percent of its roof replaced within a year, and any roof alteration or repair.

Together the two chapters mean a Monterey Park property owner building or re-roofing near a mapped WUI or Fire Hazard Severity Zone answers first to the adopted WUI Code's ignition-resistant construction standards, and everywhere else in the city still faces the same Class A roofing floor. Title 17 Fire Code violations, including failures to comply with the WUI Code as adopted, are misdemeanors under Section 17.04.010.