Mariposa County, CA Property Maintenance: Weeds & Overgrown Grass (2026)

We did not find a Mariposa County ordinance establishing a numeric weed or grass height limit. Vegetation control in this rural county is driven by wildfire law rather than a typical municipal weed-abatement code. California Public Resources Code Section 4291 requires property owners in State Responsibility Areas (which cover most of Mariposa County) to maintain defensible space. The Mariposa Fire Safe Council, which assists residents with compliance, describes the requirement as 'the required 100 feet between your property and the surrounding area,' starting at the home and working out to 100 feet or the property line, whichever is closer. Fuel reduction is most intensive nearest structures and tapers outward. CAL FIRE (the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) is the enforcing authority for PRC 4291; the Fire Safe Council offers free chipping and brush-clearing help to residents who cannot clear the 100-foot zone themselves. Separately, dead vegetation, cut brush piles, and yard debris can become a solid-waste or 'Junk' issue under County Code Chapter 8.36 if allowed to accumulate. Burning of garbage is prohibited under Section 8.36.060(B), and any outdoor burning of vegetation is subject to air-district and CAL FIRE burn-permit rules, not a county grass ordinance.