As the state continues marathon multi-year debates over rules for what residents in wildfire risk zones must do to make the first five feet of their homes (an area called “Ground Zero”) ember-resistant, the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to begin creating its own version of the regulations that is more lenient than most of the proposals currently favored in Sacramento.
Critics of Ground Zero, who are concerned about the financial burden and labor required to comply, as well as the detrimental impacts to urban ecosystems, have been particularly vocal in Los Angeles. However, wildfire safety advocates fear that the measures backed by the Los Angeles City Council will do little to prevent homes from burning down.
“My motion is to get advice from local experts, from the Fire Department, to implement something that makes sense, that is rooted in science,” said City Councilman John Lee, who introduced the motion. “Unfortunately, Sacramento does not consult with the largest city in the state, the largest area dealing with wildfires, so this is our way of sending a message.”
Tony Andersen, executive director of the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, which is in charge of creating the regulations, has repeatedly emphasized the board's commitment to incorporating feedback from Los Angeles. Over the past year, the board has hosted a contentious public meeting in Pasadena, walking tours with Los Angeles residents, and numerous workshops and virtual hearings.
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Some Los Angeles residents are defending a proposed fire safety standard, called “Ground Zero,” that requires the removal of flammable materials within the first five feet of homes. Others are skeptical about its value.
with the state has already passed its original deadline of January 1, 2023 To complete the regulations, several cities around the state have taken matters into their own hands and adopted regulations before the state. including berkeley and san diego.
“With the lack of guidance from the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, the City is left in a precarious position as it strives to protect the residents, properties and landscape that create the City of Los Angeles,” the Los Angeles City Council motion states.
However, unlike San Diego and Berkeley, whose regulations roughly match the stricter options being considered by the state Forestry Board, Los Angeles is pushing for a more lenient approach.
State regulations, once adopted, are expected to override any local version that is significantly more lenient.
Ground Zero regulations apply only to rural areas where the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection responds to fires and urban areas that Cal Fire has determined to have a “very high” fire risk. In Los Angeles, that includes significant portions of Silver Lake, Echo Park, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades.
Fire experts and Los Angeles residents generally agree with many of the measures within the state's draft Ground Zero regulations, such as the requirement that there be no fences or wood or fuel outbuildings within the first five feet of a home. Then there are some measures already required by previous wildfire regulations, such as removing dead vegetation such as twigs and leaves from the floor, roof and gutters, that are not under debate.
However, other new measures introduced by the state have generated controversy, especially in Los Angeles. Disputes have mainly centered on what to do with trees and other living vegetation, such as shrubs and grass.
The state is considering two options for trees: One would require residents to prune branches within five feet of a home's walls and roof; the other doesn't. Both require keeping trees in good condition and at least 10 feet from chimneys.
As for vegetation, the state is considering options for Ground Zero that range from banning virtually all vegetation beyond small potted plants to simply maintaining regulations that already exist, which allow almost all healthy vegetation.
Lee's motion directs the Los Angeles Fire Department to create regulations consistent with the most lenient options that allow for healthy vegetation and do not require the removal of tree branches within five feet of a home. It is unclear whether LAFD will complete the process before the Forestry Board considers finalized state regulations, which it hopes to do by mid-year.
The motion continues a pointed report of LAFD and the city's Community Forest Advisory Committee who argued that the Forestry Board's draft regulations went beyond the intentions of the 2020 law creating Ground Zero, would undermine the city's biodiversity goals, and could result in the loss of up to 18% of urban tree cover in some neighborhoods.
The board has not decided what approach it will take statewide, but fire safety advocates fear the lenient options advocated by Los Angeles will do little to protect vulnerable homes from wildfires.
Recent studies on fire mechanics have generally found that the intense heat of wildfires can quickly dry out these plants, making them susceptible to ignition by embers, flames, and radiant heat. And anything near a house that could burn risks taking the house with it.
Another recent study that analyzed five large wildfires in California over the last decadeexcluding the Eaton and Palisades fires of 2025, it found that 20% of homes with significant vegetation at Ground Zero survived, compared to 37% of homes that had vegetation cleared.
