San Clemente, CA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing state statute
- Gov't Code Section 51179(a)
- Adopting ordinance
- Ordinance No. 1791
- Map adoption date
- June 17, 2025
- Effective date
- July 24, 2025
- Enforcement agency
- Orange County Fire Authority
Summary
San Clemente designates parts of the city as Moderate, High, and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones under state Government Code Section 51179(a), using the FHSZ map adopted by Ordinance No. 1791 on June 17, 2025 and effective July 24, 2025. Parcels inside these zones face added defensible-space and construction requirements enforced by the Orange County Fire Authority.
The City of San Clemente designates those amended areas identified on the City's Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) map attached as Exhibit "A" to Ordinance No. 1791 adopted by the City Council of the City of San Clemente on the 17th day of June 2025, and made effective on July 24, 2025, as Moderate, High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in accordance with Section 51179(a) of the California Government Code.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Traffic: Supplement 30 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 66 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
010 designates the areas shown on the City's Fire Hazard Severity Zones map, most recently amended as Exhibit A to Ordinance No. 1791, adopted June 17, 2025 and effective July 24, 2025, as Moderate, High, and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones under state Government Code Section 51179(a). The designation traces back to Ordinance No. 1177 in 1996 and was updated by Ordinance No. 1547 in 2012. 080, which once let property owners petition for exclusion from the Very High zone or challenge map amendments, were repealed by Ordinance No. 1547 in 2012, so the current map is set directly by City Council ordinance rather than through a local exclusion process. 1.
Violations & Fines
Because the exclusion-petition process in former Sections 8.22.020 through 8.22.080 was repealed, property owners cannot locally contest a Very High designation through the Code; noncompliance with the vegetation clearance and fuel modification standards tied to these zones is enforced through the general fire code penalty scheme, meaning an OCFA fee-schedule penalty under Section 112.4 and a misdemeanor under Section 112.4.2 for failing to abate an ordered hazard.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does San Clemente decide which parcels are in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone?
Can I petition to have my property excluded from the Very High zone?
What extra rules apply if my home is in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Clemente
California rules heatmap·Compare San Clemente to another location·View the California fire regulations overview
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Wildfire Zones in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle wildfire zones.