Zone 0 and brush clearance in Tierrasanta

Which rule applies in Tierrasanta

Tierrasanta is inside the City of San Diego, so Zone 0 applies to every home in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone: new construction since February 28, 2026, and existing homes by February 28, 2027.

Fire history

When the Cedar Fire crossed into the city on the morning of October 26, 2003, it came through the open land of MCAS Miramar and the canyons of Mission Trails, and Tierrasanta and Scripps Ranch took the worst of the 335 structures destroyed inside the city. The fire moved through the community's canyons faster than crews could get ahead of it, and homes on the canyon rims, particularly those with wood fences and dense landscaping on the slope side, were the ones that burned.

The community rebuilt, and San Diego Fire-Rescue has used Tierrasanta as a model for brush management ever since. But the geography has not changed.

The terrain, and what crews usually find

Tierrasanta is a mesa community developed in the 1970s, threaded with canyons that connect directly to Mission Trails Regional Park on the east and south and to MCAS Miramar on the north. Shepherd Canyon and the other interior canyons bring native chaparral within a few feet of hundreds of back fences. The city maintains brush management zones on public canyon land, but the strip between the fence and the house is the homeowner's.

The housing is 1970s tract construction with the landscaping of that era — many homes originally had wood shake roofs, most long since replaced — and the typical Zone 0 findings are the classic ones: junipers under the windows, bark mulch, wood fences meeting stucco walls, and, on the canyon side, a slope that runs from the fence straight down into the park.

Common Zone 0 findings on Tierrasanta lots

• Canyon-rim back yards where the fence line meets native brush
• Wood fences on the canyon side attached to the house
• 1970s foundation plantings and bark mulch in front
• Pine and eucalyptus litter on roofs and in gutters
• Slope work behind the house that needs to stop at the property line where city open space begins

What it costs in Tierrasanta

Interior Tierrasanta lots are typical suburban Zone 0 jobs at $1,000–$3,000. Canyon-rim lots that need Zone 1 and Zone 2 thinning on the slope run higher; crews need to know where the property line is because the city handles the park side. See the Zone 0 cost guide and the brush clearing cost guide for the full breakdown.

What to do

1. Confirm your parcel on the 2025 fire hazard map.
2. Walk the Zone 0 checklist and photograph everything.
3. Clear what you can yourself: stored items, bins, litter, gutters.
4. Request a free quote for the vegetation, hardscape, fence, and slope work. Existing homes must meet Zone 0 by February 28, 2027.

Neighborhoods and areas covered