Petaluma, CA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

040, part of the city's 2025 California Fire Code adoption (Ordinance 2915 NCS), establishes the fire hazard severity zones that trigger wildfire-resistant construction standards. Under subsection A, Chapter 3 of the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, as amended and adopted by the city, applies to all real property with newly constructed buildings located within a designated fire hazard severity zone (FHSZ). The fire chief designates the zones using the map published by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), and the chief may amend that designation as Cal Fire updates its own map.

Subsection B formally adopts the Cal Fire-recommended zones under Government Code Section 51178, incorporating the city-approved map, titled 'Petaluma Fire Hazard Severity Zones,' by reference. org/documents/wildland-urban-interface-map. Because the ordinance ties directly to a state-recommended map that Cal Fire revises periodically, a parcel's zone status can change without any city council action, so builders and buyers should check the current online map or call the Fire Prevention Bureau before assuming a property falls outside a zone. Once a parcel is inside an FHSZ, new construction must meet the ignition-resistant materials, vent, roofing and defensible-space requirements of WUI Code Chapter 3 in addition to the standard California Fire Code amendments the city adopted in the same ordinance. The designation applies citywide wherever Cal Fire's map places a zone; it is not limited to hillside or outlying neighborhoods.