SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In response to the devastating wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles in January, California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order aimed at expediting long-overdue regulations mandating homeowners in fire-prone areas to remove flammable materials from the vicinity of their properties.
This order directs the state to prepare and publish draft regulations by next month, with the goal of finalizing those rules by year’s end. Originally, the legislation was approved by lawmakers in 2020, with a targeted implementation date of January 1, 2023. Newsom’s order follows his recent trip to Washington, where he advocated for disaster relief funding.
The regulations stipulate that homeowners must eliminate combustible items, such as dead vegetation and wooden furniture, within a distance of five feet (1.5 meters) from their homes situated in high-risk areas. The urgency of these regulations was underscored during multiple fires that swept through Los Angeles neighborhoods earlier this year, as the necessary rules were still pending. The state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has indicated that it lacks a definitive timeline for completing the regulations.
State officials mentioned in November that the draft language is not expected to be reviewed by the board until later in the year. Nonetheless, the state has been proactive in encouraging residents to start removing potential fire hazards from their yards, as outlined on their official website. Legislators behind the original bill expressed their frustration regarding the delay, with experts suggesting that these regulations might have mitigated some damage during the recent Palisades Fire, which was the most destructive wildfire to hit the city.
The areas heavily affected by the Palisades Fire were located in regions classified as high-fire-risk by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. This devastating fire, fueled by high winds that carried embers through the air, destroyed over 5,000 structures across communities including Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Topanga Canyon.
Under the new proposal, existing homes would have a grace period of three years to adhere to the regulations, making it uncertain how many structures might have been spared had the regulations been in place sooner. Experts believe that maintaining a clear perimeter around homes could have provided some level of protection against the fiery onslaught.
California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot articulated that these measures aim to promote proactive strategies for protecting vulnerable homes by removing combustible materials in close proximity to residences, thus reducing the likelihood of ignition during ember-driven fires. Crowfoot’s agency oversees the board responsible for drafting the regulations.
In addition to the new homeowner regulations, the executive order mandates that CalFire expand the designation of high-risk areas to include an additional 1.4 million acres (approximately 2,200 square miles or 5,700 square kilometers), subjecting homeowners in these newly classified areas to the same fire mitigation measures. While some homeowners and municipalities have begun to adopt these practices voluntarily, the comprehensive approach is now more clearly outlined.
Governor Newsom stated that these regulations form part of a broader strategy to enhance wildfire and forest resilience amid increasingly severe weather patterns that challenge legacy building codes. This state strategy encompasses various aspects, including robust fire management, significant investments in firefighting resources, reinforcing community structures, and implementing advanced response technologies. Newsom’s administration also proposed allocating $25 million to ensure compliance with these new rules and other requirements pertaining to defensible space.
It is worth noting that many areas affected by the Eaton Fire, such as Altadena and portions of Pasadena, do not appear on the state’s current fire hazard map, indicating that the new requirements would not apply to them. Roy Wright, CEO of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, which supported the 2020 legislation, expressed optimism regarding the announcement, viewing it as a strong commitment from the governor to prioritizing fire safety.
California already adheres to stringent defensible-space regulations, which necessitate that homeowners in at-risk regions maintain a fire-free zone around their properties. The state began enforcing these requirements as early as the 1960s, initially mandating the clearance of flammable materials within a 30-foot (9-meter) radius, and extended this distance to 100 feet (30.5 meters) in 2006.
The forthcoming measures will introduce a new “ember-resistant” zone, designated as “zone zero,” imposing restrictions on various combustible materials, including brush, wooden fencing, outdoor furniture, sheds, and mulch, within five feet (1.5 meters) of residences. The intent is to remove any flammable items that could ignite from embers carried by winds, which are responsible for 90% of wildfire-related structure losses. The passage of this law received bipartisan support following a series of catastrophic fires that occurred in California in 2017 and 2018, including the devastating fire that annihilated the town of Paradise, leading to significant losses in infrastructure and lives.
