Riverside, CA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- RMC § 16.32.365 (Section 4904.3.1.1 added)
- Zone tiers
- Moderate, High, Very High
- Legal basis
- Govt. Code § 51178; CAL FIRE recommendation
- Map location
- General Plan 2025, Public Safety Element
- Adopted by
- Ord. 7745 § 1(Exh. A), 2025
- Check your address
- CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone Viewer
Summary
Riverside's fire code formally adopts CAL FIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, splitting the city into Moderate, High, and Very High risk tiers under Municipal Code § 16.32.365. Tied to Government Code § 51178 and the General Plan 2025 Public Safety Element, this designation is what triggers the city's separate ignition-resistant construction and defensible-space rules for hillside and open-space-adjacent parcels.
The City of Riverside hereby designates the Fire Hazard Severity Zones as recommended by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Government Code Section 51178. The designation, locations, and boundaries of the Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the City of Riverside are designated on the map labeled "Moderate," "High," and "Very High", located in General Plan 2025, Public Safety Element, and can be accessed on the CALFIRE interactive Fire Hazard Severity Zone Viewer at https://osfm.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/community-wildfire-preparedness-and-mitigation/fire-hazard-severity-zones.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 33).
Full Breakdown
365, added by Ordinance 7745 in 2025 as part of the City's periodic update to the adopted California Fire Code, does not itself write new construction standards, it formally designates the Fire Hazard Severity Zones the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) recommends under Government Code § 51178. The three tiers, Moderate, High, and Very High, are mapped in Riverside's General Plan 2025 Public Safety Element and are the identical boundaries published on CAL FIRE's interactive Fire Hazard Severity Zone Viewer, so a resident checking either source sees the same line on the ground.
Because Riverside adopted CAL FIRE's recommendation directly rather than drawing an independent local map, any future state remapping updates the city's zone boundaries automatically once the City incorporates the new CAL FIRE data. 365 itself. Property owners, real estate agents, and builders use the designation for required natural hazard disclosures on home sales and for determining which building code chapter applies to new construction or remodels near the city's hillside edges. 32 (Fire Prevention), the chapter through which Riverside locally amends the California Fire Code, and is administered by the Riverside Fire Department's Fire Prevention Division.
Violations & Fines
Section 16.32.365 itself sets no separate fine: it only fixes zone boundaries. Building, remodeling, or maintaining vegetation inside a mapped zone without meeting the ignition-resistant and clearance standards that designation triggers is enforced through Chapter 16.32's Fire Code adoption and the City's general penalty scheme: RMC § 1.01.110 makes any Code violation a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and six months in jail, or a lesser infraction capped at $250, and § 1.17.230 lets the Fire Marshal or Code Enforcement issue administrative citations starting at $100 and escalating to $1,000 for repeat violations, on top of nuisance abatement.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if my Riverside property is in a Fire Hazard Severity Zone?
Who decided Riverside's Fire Hazard Severity Zone boundaries?
Does being inside a Very High zone add extra building requirements?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Riverside
California rules heatmap·Compare Riverside to another location·View the California fire regulations overview
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Wildfire Zones in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle wildfire zones.