Palmdale, CA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

PMC Sec. 560 adopts by reference the "Fire Hazard Severity Zones Map for the City of Palmdale," issued by the Office of the State Fire Marshal and approved by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, dated March 24, 2025, which designates parcels within the City's Local Responsibility Area as Very High, High, or Moderate Fire Hazard Severity Zones. The City Council made the adoption after a finding, supported by substantial evidence in the record, that the requirements of Government Code Sec. 51179 are necessary for effective fire protection, and the map itself is filed as Exhibit A to the adopting ordinance and stays posted on the City's website.

Properties inside a mapped zone trigger the Palmdale Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which PMC Sec. 203 adopts in place of Chapter 7A of the California Building Code, using the International Code Council's 2025 Wildland-Urban Interface Code edition. The designation also has knock-on effects elsewhere in the code: fireworks of any kind, including "safe and sane" fireworks otherwise allowed citywide each summer, cannot be sold or discharged in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone under Fire Code Sec. 2(C), and Sec. " New construction and additions within the mapped zones go through the standard building permit process, with plans reviewed for WUI Code compliance before the Building Official issues a permit.