El Dorado County, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

09 (Vegetation Management and Defensible Space) was originally adopted by Ordinance 5101 in 2019 and substantially amended and re-adopted by Ordinance 5186 (effective August 16, 2024). 070(F)(1) requires that any person or entity that owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining a mountainous area, forest-covered lands, brush-covered lands, grass-covered lands, or land covered with flammable material shall: (a) maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure; (e) remove that portion of a tree that extends within 10 feet of the outlet of a chimney or stovepipe; (f) maintain a tree, shrub, or other plant adjacent to or overhanging a building free of dead or dying wood; and (g) maintain the roof of a structure free of leaves, needles, or other vegetative materials.

Fuels must be maintained so that a wildfire burning under average weather conditions would be unlikely to ignite the structure. The El Dorado County Defensible Space Program inspection checklist further specifies that within the 100-foot zone, trees larger than 24 inches in diameter should be limbed up 15 feet, and all trees overhanging a driveway or road should be trimmed to maintain 15 feet of clearance for emergency vehicles. CAL FIRE retains separate enforcement authority under PRC 4291 in State Responsibility Areas, which cover most of the unincorporated county.