Questions & steps
Answers, in the order people ask
The screens, one by one
-
Zone 0 — the five feet
5 answers
The five feet against the wall is the ember zone, and it is where home losses are decided. Walk the perimeter of the building and look up at the eaves as well as down at the ground.
-
Zone 1 — five to thirty feet
2 answers
From five to thirty feet the aim is a lean, clean and green area: no ladder fuel to carry a ground fire upward, and crowns spaced so fire cannot walk from tree to tree.
-
Zone 2 — thirty to one hundred feet
3 answers
The outer zone is about fuel load: thinner, lower and more separated. On this coast the slope and the species matter as much as the depth of the needles.
-
Your parcel line
One answer
Required clearance runs to one hundred feet or to the property line, whichever comes first. Measure to the boundary rather than to where you stop mowing.
-
Your clearance report
The answer
Every zone marked against the three required distances, the items still outstanding, and the one to fix first.
Questions
How much defensible space does California require?
Public Resources Code section 4291 requires 100 ft of defensible space to the structure, or to the property line where that comes first, with the 5–30 ft and 30–100 ft zones treated separately.
What is the Zone 0 ember-resistant zone?
The area from 0 to 5 ft around a structure, where the goal is to remove anything that can catch a windblown ember and pass fire to the building — plants under vents and windows, litter in gutters, firewood and furniture on a deck.
Do pine trees over the house have to come out?
Not necessarily. Thinning, removing dead and dying limbs, raising the crown and separating trees usually gets a pine to a defensible condition. The trees that cannot be brought to standard are ones already failing over a structure.
Who can certify fire clearance work?
Defensible space requirements are enforced by the local fire authority and Cal Fire, not by the tree contractor. We document the work and the fuel reduction so the record exists for your inspection.
What does the check miss that an inspector sees?
Roof construction, attic vents you cannot reach, the condition of a deck's underside and what sits on the neighbouring parcel. A browser tool reads what you can see from the ground, so treat a clean result as a good sign rather than as a clearance. Documenting the work is what the inspection actually asks for.
Do the needles in my gutter really matter?
More than almost anything else on the list. Embers rather than a wall of flame drive most home losses, and a mat of dry pine needles against a fascia is the shortest path from a windblown ember into a roof void. On a pine-covered lot the gutters want clearing twice a year, before the first real wind.
Terms, and what these figures are not
Every figure this tool returns is an estimate or general information — not a quote, a bid, an offer, an appraisal, an inspection or legal advice.
Talk to our team
A tool can only take you so far. A free walk-through gives you a written price from the same crew who would do the work — no obligation, and no form to fill in.