• Fire severity zone map: All buildings in the High and Very High Fire Danger areas are required to meet the defensible space requirements. All buildings in Mountain Cove are in the Very High Fire Danger Area (VHFHSZ).
  
  https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/5065c998b4b0462f9ec3c6c226c610a9
  
  
• INSURANCE INDUSTRY: Wildfire Prepared Home. "Wildfire researchers at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) have spent years researching wildfire through both field and lab studies. Now, in collaboration with other wildfire community experts, IBHS has identified the mitigation actions critical to reducing your wildfire risk." How to Prepare My Home Checklist. (Fortified Home Certification)
  
  
• WRAP Resource Center. Wildfire Risk Reduction and Asset Protection (“WRAP”) Resource Center
  
  
• Evaluate Your Yard: https://www.defensiblespacescore.com
  
  
• Ready For Wildfire Self Assessment: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/31e91d1ba02b4da0b6442d09f9a9824f
  
  
• WARNING: Do not buy any plants to replace until you have researched them. I use Grok and ChatGPT to help me determine what needs to be removed and what doesn't. For example, I thought my asparagus ferns would be okay until I researched them. I had to remove them. If leaves get stuck in the plant there is a good chance that it is not allowed. With the asparagus ferns, they are highly flamable and leaves get stuck in them. I recently made a trip to a local nursery and asked for specific plants. With one of the plants she told me that it was the same, just larger flowers. I later found out, after planting it, that the difference was a plant that is not allowed in this area. The one that I planted gets more woody. The nursery experts don't seem to be aware of the changes that need to be made. Make sure that you get the correct plant when looking for them. For example, not all salvias are acceptable. Lavender plants are drought tolerant but they get woody over time and can collect leaves under the plants.
  
  Fire-Resistant Plants Approved for Use in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ) in Los Angeles County, California
  
  CalScape Garden Planner - SGV Plant List - https://calscape.org 
  
  
  Search Example:
• Does  *PLANT NAME* do well in zone 1 (5 to 30 feet) in a very high fire danger area (VHFHSZ) in Los Angeles County, CA?
  
  Copy and paste the above and add the plant name where it says *PLANT NAME*. I include the county because the regulations can vary a little by county. Sometimes they can be more strict, especially in the very high fire danger areas. That way you won't waste money on plants that we can't have in this area.
  
  
• Finding Plants: I have not found that big stores like Home Depot and Lowe's have very many options. I did find Carpet of Stars at Home Depot. That is a good groundcover.  Armstrong has a few more options, especially in the Spring. A lot of the plants I was looking for were not available until Spring/March. I found a good selection on High Country Gardens and Annie's Annuals & Perennials. But I also looked for plants that butterflies like in additon to plants that will work well in very high fire danger areas and don't get a lot of leaves stuck in them.
  
  

  Some of the plants I used: Poquito™ Lavender Agastache (High Country Gardens),  Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium) (High Country Gardens),  New Vintage™ Red Yarrow (High Country Gardens), California Narrow Leaf Milkweed (High Country Gardens), Hot Lips Salvia (High Country Gardens), Yankee Point California Lilac (armstrong), Coastal Gem Grevillea (armstrong), Verbena Lilacina De La Mina (armstrong), Santa Barbara Daisy (armstrong), Lippia (ground cover) (https://theblueoaknursery.com, https://plantclearance.com/products/lippia), Island Pink Yarrow (Plant-Material.com), Epilobium canum (zauschneria) 'Carman's Grey' (Plant-material.com), Blue eyed Grass, Firecracker Penstemon Richfield Strain, Ava Agastache, Blue Fortune Agasche, Dutch Iris - Blue Diamond, Allium - Aflatunense Purple Sensation (bulbs) (EasyToGrowBulbs), Bearded Iris (bulbs) (EasyToGrowBulbs), Narcissus - Paperwhite Nir (bulbs) (EasyToGrowBulbs), Delosperma alba (White Trailing Ice Plant) (jacksonandperkins.com) (Note, I would recommend not ordering from this company or its subsidiaries (Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, Jackson & Perkins). I found this company to be extremely unethical/dishonest. I have never seen a company as bad as this one before.), Statice - Sea Lavender  (Garden View Nursery, Irwindale), Echeverla Elegans (Garden View Nursery, Irwindale) ...

  Ground Cover: Silver Carpet Dymondia (ground cover) (armstrong), Carpet of Stars (ground cover) (Home Depot)

  
  
  
• Cal Fire Defensible Space Real Estate Request: https://www.fire.ca.gov/dspace/
  
• Cal Fire Defensible Space - Zone 0, 1 and 2: https://bof.fire.ca.gov/projects-and-programs/defensible-space-zones-0-1-and-2 and here https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/defensible-space/
  
  
• Los Angeles County Fire Department Defensible Space Programs: https://fire.lacounty.gov/fire-hazard-reduction-programs/
  
  
• Create Zone 0 (0'-5' from home), Zone 1 (5'-30'), Zone 2 (30'-100')
  
  
• Zone 0: Remove all combustible materials within 5' from the home. Make sure to use a tape measure. Mulch and bark are not allowed in this area. Fake grass is also a fire hazard but they are letting local authorities decide whether to allow it in zone 0 or not. Fake grass create microplastics, and leaches harmful chemicals and heavy metals into the soil and surrounding environment. Some of which can end up in you and your family's blood streams primarily through skin contact, inhalation, accidental ingestion, or open wounds. The state Zone 0 rules say 1' or distance under eaves, whichever is more, from the home but the insurance guidelines say 5'. I prefer to choose the tougher guidelines to help keep my homeowners insurance as well as comply with state law.
  
  Noncombustible examples: cement, pavers, rock, stone, metal, glass, water, ceramics, tile, etc. Creativity a plus.
  
  
• Zone 1: (5-30') Use plants that are less than 4" high OR plants spaced apart at least twice as far as its height. No hedges. Choose plants that don't get dry leaves caught in it. Blue chalk stick plants make a great drought tolerant ground cover but in my front yard the leaves get stuck in them so I plan on removing all of those as well. You can use Grok to find out if a type of plant should be removed or not in a Very High Fire Danger Area in California for Zone 1 (5-30 feet). It has helped me a lot to determine what needs to be removed and what doesn't.
  
  The HOA tree in front of my yard drops a lot more leaves than many other trees in the Cove, so I probably have to do more than most people. They do not want plants that trap dry leaves or plants that are highly flamable any where near the home. They are trying to minimize the risk of spreading a fire.This means a lot more thought and research.
  
  
• Patio covers and decking should be made out of non-combustable materials, such as metal, stone, or brick which can be covered with stucco.
  
  
• Trees need to be spaced at least 10' apart. Tree branches need to be at least 5 feet from the home (no tree branches that go into zone 0). Remove tree branches on the bottom trunk, 6'-10' of the tree.
  
  Some trees are more dangerous than others. A homeowner that lives in the Eaton Fire area, stayed during the active fire to keep the flames away from his home, said during the comments period of the discussion about AB 38 that he saw the embers from one mexican fan palm tree resulted in 7 homes on fire. The mexican fan palm trees  "go up like Roman candles" fireworks.
  
  

• Branches Cannot Overhang into a neighbor’s property

  Branch Overhang is not legally compliant with PRC § 4291.

  • Zone 2 extends to the property line (or 100 ft, whichever is less).
  • Any tree branch that crosses the property line is within your neighbor’s Zone 2 (and possibly their Zone 1 or 0), making you responsible for trimming it back to your property line to maintain defensible space on both sides.
  • Cal Fire inspectors cite the property where the tree originates for branches overhanging into neighboring defensible space.
  
  
• Vine Pruning Calendar (Example of managing vines against brick walls. Not allowed on the walls of the home/buildings). Vines cannot legally extend into a neighbor’s property in California’s high or very high fire danger zones (Zones 0, 1, or 2 under PRC § 4291).  
  
  Example of a drip edge. I purchased these at Lowe's to keep my vines from growing too far. They still need trimming on a regular basis. But it does give it a clean look and makes it easy to see when they need trimming.
  
  
• Hedges
  

  Zone	Distance from Structure	Hedge Rules	Key Requirements and Examples
  Zone 0	0–5 feet	Generally not allowed (except limited exceptions for movable or noncombustible options).	- Prohibits most landscaping like bushes, hedges, and flowers to create an ember-resistant buffer. - Exceptions: Potted plants (movable) or groundcover like irrigated green lawns; no mulch, wood fences, or attached vegetation. - Rationale: Embers from wildfires (common in VHFHSZs) ignite dry plants easily; tests show this zone prevents 80% of home ignitions. - Local note: In areas like Los Angeles County, hedges must be removed if within 5 feet.
  Zone 1	5–30 feet	Allowed with strict limits; must be spaced, trimmed, and low-flammability.	- Limit height to 4 feet; space plants 2x their mature width apart (e.g., 3–4 feet for small hedges). - Remove dead material; keep irrigated and green. - Allowed: Low-fuel-volume hedges (e.g., boxwood, lavender if trimmed). - Prohibited: Dense, unmaintained, or flammable hedges touching structures. - Goal: Slow fire spread; ladder fuels (ground-to-shrub connections) banned.
  Zone 2	30–100 feet	Allowed but managed; focus on fuel reduction.	- Trim to <10 feet diameter; vertical clearance of 6–10 feet from ground. - Space trees/shrubs to prevent canopy overlap. - Allowed: Native or fire-resistant hedges (e.g., manzanita if pruned); mow grass to <4 inches. - Prohibited: Continuous dense hedges that create "fuel corridors." - Goal: Reduce fire intensity before it reaches Zone 1.

  
  
  
• Fire Smart Landscaping
  https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/fire-smart-landscaping/
  
  
• Low Cost Retrofit: https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/readyforwildfire-website/prepare-for-wildfire/hardening-your-home/low-cost-retrofit-flyer-handout-.pdf 
  
  
• Home Hardening List: https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/hardening-your-home/


• Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Listed Products Handbook
  Products have been reviewed and verified by OSFM staff to comply with Chapter 7A of the California Building Code and have been listed by the Building Materials Listing (BML) Program.
  https://osfm.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/fire-engineering-and-investigations/building-materials-listing
  
  
• NOTE: I have found that the rechargable battery powered leaf blower to be a helpful garden tool to help maintain the yard: It can be used to blow the leaves out of the rocks.
  
  
• Risk Reduction for Home Ignition
  
  Studies analyzing real California wildfires (e.g., 2017 Tubbs and Thomas, 2018 Camp, 2019 Kincade, 2020 Glass) show that full compliance with defensible space rules like those in AB 38 and AB 3074 can significantly lower the risk of a home burning down. Here's a breakdown of quantified reductions, focusing on VHFHSZ-like conditions:
  

  Measure	Description	Risk Reduction	Source/Context
  Zone 0 Only (AB 3074)	Clearing all flammables within 5 feet to block embers.	17% reduction in structure loss; doubles survival rate when combined with basic hardening.	UC Berkeley/Nature Communications study of 5 major fires; predicts outcomes with 82% accuracy using CAL FIRE data.
  Full Defensible Space (AB 38: Zones 0-2)	Vegetation management across 100 feet, including lean, clean, and reduced fuels.	Homes 80% more likely to survive; up to 50% reduction in overall damage when community-wide.	CAL FIRE guidelines and Berkeley analysis; doubles surviving structures in simulations.
  Combined with Home Hardening	Defensible space + retrofits (e.g., ember-resistant vents, siding; not required by these bills but complementary).	40-75% reduction in ignition risk; up to 48% less structure loss (from hypothetical 100% baseline).	North Coast Resource Partnership (citing Czajkowski et al., 2020); PMC machine learning model on same fires.

  
  
  
• California Laws
  
  • AB 38 Fire safety: low-cost retrofits: regional capacity review: wildfire mitigation.
  • AB 3074  Fire prevention: wildfire risk: defensible space: ember-resistant zones.
  • AB 1572 Potable water: nonfunctional turf. (HOA related)
  • Statewide Fines for Violating PRC § 4291 (Defensible Space Non-Compliance)
    
    
• Enforcement Process: Local fire departments or CAL FIRE issue notices to comply (e.g., LE-100 form). If ignored, citations follow. Agencies must make "reasonable efforts" to notify residents before penalties (per AB 1516 amendments).
  
  Abatement Costs: If you don't comply, the agency can clear the property and charge you directly (e.g., labor, equipment), often $500–$2,000+ depending on property size. This is in addition to fines.
  
• Fines can compound if non-compliance contributes to a fire (e.g., civil penalties under Health & Safety Code).

  • How Penalties Compound

    1. Initial Non-Compliance Fines (Baseline from PRC § 4291): As outlined previously, these are administrative or court-imposed for failing to maintain defensible space. They escalate with repeats but are relatively modest to encourage compliance.
    2. Escalation if Linked to a Fire:
       • LIABILITY: Suppression Cost Recovery: If your property's non-compliance (e.g., excessive fuels) contributes to a fire's start or spread, CAL FIRE can seek reimbursement for all firefighting expenses under PRC § 4119 and HSC § 14941. This includes costs for personnel, equipment, aircraft, and containment—often totaling $10,000 to millions per incident, depending on the fire's scale.
         
         
         
         
• SELLING YOUR HOME: For real estate sales under AB 38: If no compliance docs at escrow close, buyer/seller must agree in writing for buyer to comply within 1 year—no direct fine, but ongoing non-maintenance risks the above penalties.
  
  Defensible Space is required to be done. Must be completed and documented within 1 year of closing if the seller did not provide it (Civil Code § 1102.19). After that, maintained year-round. Fines, forced abatement, or fire-agency liens possible for non-compliance. Defensible Space (PRC § 4291, AB 3074 ember-resistant zone, local ordinances)
  
  Home hardening is not required to sell a home but upgrading it to meet the standards should make it easier for the new owners to get home owners insurance. Low-Cost Fire-Hardening Retrofits (Gov. Code § 51189 – the 12-item list).
  
  Not hardening the home may make it more difficult to sell a home without the retrofits. It may reduce the interested buyer pool for buyers that don't want to deal with getting the home up to requirements during the first year. Basically turning the home into a fixer upper home and would put pressure to lower prices in the neighborhood.
  

  AB 3074 specifically focuses on creating an ember-resistant zone within 0 to 5 feet of structures in these areas, requiring homeowners to use noncombustible materials and remove flammable vegetation or debris.

  The disclosure requirements for home sales in high or very high fire hazard severity zones are primarily governed by AB 38 & (codified in California Civil Code § 1102.19 and other sections). Since July 1, 2021, sellers of residential properties (1-4 units) in these zones must provide buyers with documentation of a compliant Defensible Space Inspection to verify compliance with defensible space requirements under Public Resources Code § 4291 or local vegetation management ordinances.

  Additionally, starting January 1, 2021, sellers of homes built before 2010 in these zones must disclose:

  • That the property is in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone and was built before Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) building codes were implemented.
  • Information on how to fire-harden the home.
  • Specific features of the home that may increase vulnerability to wildfires (e.g., single-pane windows, untreated wood shingles, non-ember-resistant vents).

  As of July 1, 2025, sellers must also include a list of low-cost fire-hardening retrofits (per California Government Code § 51189) and specify which, if any, have been completed during their ownership.

  Sellers must provide evidence of compliance with these standards, which could include actions taken (or not taken) to meet AB 3074’s requirements, such as clearing flammable materials within the 0-5 foot zone. Failure to comply could lead to a buyer’s right to cancel escrow if not addressed.

• The HOA will have to also work on the requirements in AB 1572 since the water used on HOA managed green spaces is not recycled water. https://grok.com/c/795feb35-10b2-4ac7-b828-f50741965918. Non functional grass will have to be removed on HOA managed property, including the grass in between the streets and the sidewalks in front of our homes.
  
  

• Functional turf = Grass areas actively used for recreation (e.g., parks, sports fields, school playgrounds, picnic areas).
• Nonfunctional turf = Decorative grass that serves no practical purpose, such as:
  • Medians in streetscapes
  • Landscaping around commercial buildings (unless used for events)
  • Residential front yards with no foot traffic (NOTE: AB 1572 does not apply to residential lots)
  • Areas inaccessible to people

  
  
  
  

PLEASE NOTE: These are the details found through online research at the time of publishing this web page, but the requirements are subject to change, without notice. Most of the sources from this research have been included on this page as well. This research is on going and may be incomplete. We recommend that you do your own research. This web page has been created to help you get started.