Lassen County, CA Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Lassen County addresses weeds and flammable vegetation through nuisance and fire law rather than a single dedicated 'weed ordinance.' County Code Chapter 1.18 (Public Nuisances) authorizes the county to treat conditions declared a public nuisance by state statute, county ordinance, or Board of Supervisors resolution, and provides that no person may cause or maintain a public nuisance in the unincorporated territory; it is the duty of every owner, occupant, and person controlling land to remove and abate the nuisance, ordinarily within ten calendar days of the abatement notice. Dry, flammable weeds and grass that create a fire hazard fall within this nuisance authority. For buildings in the State Responsibility Area, California Public Resources Code 4291 separately requires 100 feet of defensible space, including clearing weeds and dead vegetation near structures, enforced by CAL FIRE. Noxious-weed control (invasive species rather than fire fuel) is handled by the Lassen County Agricultural Commissioner's office and the multi-agency Lassen Special Weed Action Team (SWAT), formed in 1992 to control and eradicate noxious-weed infestations countywide. So a complaint about tall dry weeds is typically a Chapter 1.18 nuisance and/or PRC 4291 defensible-space matter, while infestations of state-listed noxious weeds are an Agricultural Commissioner concern.