Wildfire rules in unincorporated Contra Costa County combine the state's 100-foot defensible-space requirement (PRC §4291) with the county fire code's hazardous-vegetation standards. Fire districts enforce, can abate uncleared parcels, and can bill owners for the work and for suppression costs.
Wildfire obligations in unincorporated Contra Costa County stack state and local rules. California's Public Resources Code §4291 requires 100 feet of defensible space around structures in State Responsibility Areas, which cover most of the rural county. The county fire code reinforces this through its hazardous-vegetation provisions (Section 202 definition), enforced by the local fire protection districts — Contra Costa County FPD, East Contra Costa FPD or Crockett-Carquinez FPD — through their fire code officials. Enforcement has teeth: districts can abate uncleared vegetation and bill the owner (H&S §13009), repeat violations can be cited every 10 days, and rural parcels over 10 acres get their own treatment.
Contact your local code enforcement office for specific penalty information.
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