Orinda residents continue to remain in the dark about new “Zone 0” fire prevention regulations – and no one knows when those mandatory
standards will be approved.
The proposed Zone 0 regulations would require an ember-resistant defensible space within five feet of structures, up from the current standard of two feet. Recent wildfires have shown that embers and combustible material near or on homes are a major cause of structure damage and destruction in past conflagrations around the state.
Though the new regulations have been approved by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), they are being reviewed and revised by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). No one appears to know when those revisions will be complete, and thus when the phase-in period begins for the Moraga-Orinda Fire District (MOFD).
“The new standards were submitted,” said Tony Andersen, CAL FIRE’s executive officer. “The OAL provided technical edits (not major policy changes) and per their process they must be withdrawn and resubmitted as part of the review process.”
So technically, there are no Zone 0 proposals in the pipeline, even though the new regulations have already been approved by CAL FIRE. Once the OAL returns the proposals to CAL FIRE, the regulations will become state law.
Homeowners have been responsible for “hardening” their structures against possible wildfire since Governor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order in 2025. Such steps included adding grates over roof gutters, screens over vents in the attic, and maintaining tree limbs so that they are at least 10 feet from roofs.
Once approved, the new standards will have two phases, the first standards on a three- year timetable, the second with a five-year deadline. Primarily, they require the removal of combustible items such as firewood, dead leaves and branches, mulch and wood chips within five feet of the structure and cleaning gutters, removing dead and dying plants, trimming trees according to regulations and implementing or adjusting for allowable vegetation.
CAL FIRE adopted the new Zone 0 rules on Aug 19, 2026, and submitted them to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on Aug. 28.
The OAL is the state department that reviews, validates and publishes regulations proposed by over 200 California state agencies to ensure those regulations comply with proper procedures and laws.
When it comes to regulation review, the OAL checks proposed state agency rules for six core standards: authority, reference, consistency, clarity, non-duplication and necessity.
“We are working through the process with OAL so no one locally would have that timeline knowledge,” Andersen said. “This could be done shortly or in a matter of weeks. We do not know just yet.”
The new standards were proposed to come out last February, but from the state’s perspective, the wide variety of local eco-systems and their flora and fauna, grasses and trees as well as geographical characteristics, there can be no “one-size-fits-all” law when it comes to wildfire prevention in California. The forestry board’s press release on the process makes that clear.
“Over the past 15 months, the Board has conducted extensive outreach, including research and public comment review, and nearly a combined 20 public workshops, community site visits and walking tours, and on-the-ground engagement with homeowners, fire professionals, environmental groups and local governments,” says the press release.
“For MOFD, the withdrawal does not change our current defensible space requirements,” Chief Jeff Isaacs said. “The district has already adopted local fire prevention standards that address the area immediately surrounding structures. For example, we currently require the removal of combustible ground cover, such as bark and mulch, within two feet of a structure.
“The proposed statewide regulations establish additional requirements within five feet of structures. Once finalized, we will review those requirements to determine whether modifications to our existing ordinances are necessary.”
Isaacs added that the MOFD will have some discretion in applying the new Zone 0 standards in light of the fact that approximately 65% of Orinda’s 8,115 total acres are designated as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.
“But enforcement is under way and will continue since it is important to understand that we do not need to wait for the state to act before continuing our wildfire mitigation efforts. Our existing ordinances remain in effect, and we will continue working with property owners to reduce wildfire hazards. Once the state regulations are approved and become effective, MOFD will review the final language to determine how it interacts with our existing ordinances,” Isaacs said. “If changes to district ordinances are necessary, we would work through the appropriate process.”
Three-year phase-in requires
• Branches should be trimmed five feet above roofs and trimmed so that they are not under eaves.
• Dead wood and lower branches or “ladder fuels” that could carry fire upward should be removed.
• Limbs should be removed from the bottom six feet of large trees, or from the lower third of smaller trees.
Five-year phase-in includes
• A five-foot non-combustible section is required where fences attach to a home. An example would be replacing a combustible gate with a non-combustible metal gate.
• No new combustible fences or gates should be built within Zone 0, but repairs can be made to existing fences.
• Any sheds and outbuildings within Zone 0 must have non-combustible exterior roofs and walls.
Kathy Mead grew up in a small house at the top of El Toyonal Drive on the northwest side of Orinda. The home is more than 100 years old and sits under large oaks. And in her lifetime there have been three wildfires near the home.
For the past two years she served as a FireWise captain, a group of residents who walk their neighborhoods to inform others of the steps needed on the homes to help reduce the chances of a devastating wildfire. And, according to Mead, the threat of wildfire has raised her fire insurance from $1,400 a year to $7,000.
“In the springtime or late winter, I have to trim everything around the house, and I pay someone to do that,” she said. “The oak trees produce tons of leaves, and in the non-irrigated areas they are a fire threat. I have to clean off the gutters and the roof and wood debris off the deck. Everything grows, you know.”
Bill Lowery has resided in north Orinda since 1997 and now takes a longer look at his Sleepy Hollow neighborhood.
“Some people have let their yards go, and that’s not safe,” he said.
An arborist checked on a large oak tree on his property and said the trunk was starting to rot. Lowery asked how long the tree could survive and the answer was, “It could be a year, it could be 30.” Lowery had the tree removed.
“I do the common sense thing,” he said. “I read all the FireWise stuff, and some of it is a little extreme, but most makes common sense. You only can do so much without denuding the entire hillside.”
In general, Isaacs believes residents understand that living in Moraga and Orinda comes with wildfire risk, and, “we have seen increased awareness of that risk over the past several years.”
“However, awareness and taking the necessary steps to reduce that risk are two different things.”
The first, he said, is the “hardening” – screens and clean roofs. Defensible space is step two. That focuses on managing vegetation and other combustible materials surrounding the home to reduce fire intensity and the potential for ignition.
“These two efforts must work together,” said Isaacs.
Orinda homeowners await state approval of new Zone 0 fire rules
