Santee, CA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

Section 11.17.020 amends the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code as adopted for the City of Santee and adds Section 504.12, which governs fencing built inside a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. The fence itself must be built of ignition-resistant materials meeting WUI Code Section 503.2, unless the code official approves an alternative, and whatever fencing sits within the last five feet of a structure must step up to fully noncombustible material under Section 503.2.1. The same set of amendments requires fire hydrants spaced no more than 300 feet apart, or to the tighter standard in California Fire Code Appendix C or CC, and a minimum fire flow of 2,500 gallons per minute under Sections 404.4 and 404.5, so the fencing rule sits inside a broader package of hardening measures for the wildland-urban interface.

The Office of the Fire Marshal, created as the WUI Code's 'code official' under Section 103.1, administers and enforces the chapter, and Santee has filed a copy of the code with both the Fire Department and the City Clerk under Government Code Section 50022.6. An owner who disputes a Fire Marshal decision on a fencing plan can appeal in writing to the City Clerk within thirty days, with the City Council deciding the appeal at its next available meeting under Section 11.17.030.