Fire Hazard Severity Zones

Learn How Law, Insurance, and Community Action Are Reshaping Wildfire Preparedness

Watch this in-depth conversation featuring Yucaipa Fire Chief Grant Malinowski, Calimesa Fire Chief Tim O’Connell, Mountain Rim Fire Safe Alliance President Laura Dyberg, and Wildwood Watchers Fire Wise Council President Doug Williams, breaking down everything homeowners need to know to protect their property and prepare their communities.

What’s Happening with Wildfire Maps in California and What You Need to Do

California residents have watched wildfires become more frequent and severe. Record wildfires in 2020 led to a new law that required the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to update its Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps to better reflect fire danger throughout the state and mitigate risk.

The OSFM released its new maps on March 24, 2025, and State law requires local agencies to adopt the map updates by July 22. Please note, under California Government Code § 51179, the City of Yucaipa is prohibited from reducing the fire hazard severity zone classifications for any area within the City.

The Story Behind the New Maps

Back in 2020, California faced some of its worst wildfires ever. Over 4 million acres burned and smoke choked the air as fires destroyed whole tracts of homes. At the time, California had maps showing Very High fire danger zones in places like Southern California cities, but they didn’t show Moderate or High danger areas. This left many neighborhoods without a clear picture of their wildfire risk. State legislators teamed up with firefighters, environmental groups, and builders to fix this. They created SB 63, a law signed in 2021, to make better wildfire maps and help communities stay safe.

SB 63 required the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to map all three danger levels—Moderate, High, and Very High—in cities and suburbs, not just the worst zones. It also introduced tougher building rules, clearer guidelines for clearing brush, and grants to help communities prepare.

Why This Matters to You

If your home is within the boundary of a High, or Very High fire danger zone, you will need to:

• Use fireproof materials for new construction or qualifying renovation.
  • Review Yucaipa Municipal Code 15.04.115, subsection 4905.5, for additional information on construction within the fire hazard zones.
• Maintain a 100-foot clear space (if available) around structures on your property to keep overgrown brush and trees from fueling fires.
• Obtain a property inspection when you sell your property.
  • All sales of property located within a “High” or “Very High” Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZs) are required by CA Civ Code § 1102.19 (2024)to be inspected by the fire department for compliance with CA Govt Code § 51182 (2004).
  • Assembly Bill 38 (AB 38), enacted in 2019, focuses on wildfire mitigation by strengthening defensible space requirements and fire hardening measures for homes in fire-prone areas of California. A key provision of the law requires that, for real estate transactions in High or Very High FHSZs, sellers must provide documentation of compliance with defensible space requirements or disclose that an inspection has not been completed.

• Disclose the risk to future buyers when you sell your property.
  • Assembly Bill 1280, enacted in July 2023, marks the first major update to the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement since 1998. This law requires sellers of single-family homes to disclose natural hazards to prospective buyers, including whether a property is located in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Pursuant to Civil Code 1102.6f, for homes in these zones built before 2025, the disclosure must also include the following fire hardening notice:
  • “This home is located in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone and was built before the implementation of the Wildfire Urban Interface building codes, which help fire harden a home. To better protect your home from wildfire, you might need to consider improvements. Information on fire hardening, including current building standards and minimum annual vegetation management standards, can be found at www.readyforwildfire.org.”

How Does This Affect Insurance?

FHSZ map updates don’t address California’s fire insurance woes. Insurers use proprietary models unrelated to FHZS maps. Based on their proprietary models, insurers have raised premiums or dropped coverage in high-risk areas. Although they’re not directly related, your FHSZ designation will be a good indication of how much your fire insurance will cost and how difficult it will be to obtain.

Effective October 2022, the California Department of Insurance adopted Safer from Wildfires regulations which qualify your home for an insurance discount for every action implemented. Learn more – https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/200-wrr/Safer-from-Wildfires.cfm