West Covina, CA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

Municipal Code Sec. 26-53(m), adopted by Ordinance No. 2519, applies to every property within a Fire Hazard Severity Zone as mapped by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE); the city separately adopts the county's High Fire Hazard Zone Map under Sec. 10-24 to help identify those areas locally. The stated purpose is to mitigate wildfire risk and protect life and property through building standards rather than land-use bans, so property inside a mapped zone isn't barred from development, but construction there carries extra requirements that properties outside the zone don't face.

Every structure built within the FHSZ must use fire-resistant materials and design techniques that comply with Chapter 7A of the California Building Code, Materials and Construction Methods for Exterior Wildfire Exposure, which governs things like ignition-resistant siding, vents, roofing, and eave construction. 3 of the California Fire Code, layering onto the citywide 100-foot vegetation clearance duty in Sec. 10-24. Because this section sits in the mixed-use and manufacturing zone standards of Chapter 26, it applies alongside the other requirements of that chapter, including the precise-plan-of-design review that mixed-use and industrial projects already need before the city will approve construction.