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

Trinity County is one of California's most wildfire-exposed counties. Its General Plan Safety Element states that all of the county is within State Responsibility Areas (SRAs) or Federal Responsibility Areas (FRAs), with wildfire-protection responsibility resting with CAL FIRE or federal agencies (primarily the U.S. Forest Service - Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests). Many of the county's unincorporated communities are in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where development is interspersed with or adjacent to wildfire-prone landscapes and is classified by CAL FIRE as a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ). The county has no Local Responsibility Areas. General structural fire protection is provided by multiple small, mostly volunteer fire protection districts, while wildland protection is CAL FIRE's and the Forest Service's responsibility. Living in an FHSZ carries real legal obligations: structures on SRA land must maintain 100 feet of defensible space under Public Resources Code section 4291, and new development must meet the county Fire Safe Ordinance (Chapter 8.30) standards for clearance, access, signage, and water supply. The General Plan notes wildfire risk is increasing - the number of days per year with extreme wildfire risk is projected to rise from 82 to about 108 by mid-century, and annual burned area is projected to grow substantially due to climate change. Trinity County was within the 2020 August Complex, the largest wildfire in California history at 1,032,648 acres. Homeowners should harden structures, maintain defensible space, and plan evacuation routes.