The three-minute check
- City of San Diego residents: open the city's Fire Hazard Severity Zones page. It has an interactive map you can search by address, plus 49 downloadable PDF grid maps by neighborhood if the map is slow to load.
- Everyone in California: the Office of the State Fire Marshal publishes the statewide Fire Hazard Severity Zone viewer, which covers both State Responsibility Areas (CAL FIRE jurisdiction) and Local Responsibility Areas (city and county fire departments).
- Unincorporated county: the County of San Diego's defensible space page explains county brush management rules and links to county maps.
Type your address, find your parcel, and read the shading: Very High (usually red), High (orange), or Moderate (yellow). Zone 0 in the City of San Diego applies to Very High.
If you do not want to open a map
If your back fence, side yard, or the end of your street drops into a canyon, open space, a creek bed, or an undeveloped hillside, you are almost certainly in a Very High zone.
San Diego is a city built on mesas cut by canyons, and the 2025 map follows the canyons. That is why the Very High designation reaches into neighborhoods most people think of as fully suburban. Streets that are entirely surrounded by other houses with no open space nearby are the ones most likely to be outside the zone.
City of San Diego neighborhoods with large Very High areas
- Scripps Ranch
- Rancho Bernardo
- Rancho Peñasquitos
- Carmel Valley & Del Mar Mesa
- Tierrasanta
- San Carlos & Del Cerro
- La Jolla (canyon and hillside streets)
- University City (canyon edges)
- Mira Mesa (canyon edges)
- Clairemont (canyon edges)
- Sabre Springs & Carmel Mountain Ranch
- Black Mountain Ranch & Torrey Highlands
- Otay Mesa & San Ysidro hillsides
- Serra Mesa & Kearny Mesa canyon edges
Outside the city: backcountry and foothill communities
Ramona, Alpine, Jamul, Julian, Descanso, Pine Valley, Fallbrook, Valley Center, Bonsall, Rancho Santa Fe, Lakeside, Crest, Harbison Canyon, and the hillside portions of Poway, Escondido, San Marcos, Santee, El Cajon, and Spring Valley are largely in Very High zones under State or Local Responsibility Area maps, and the 100-foot defensible space requirement has applied there for years.
What being in a Very High zone means
| Requirement | Applies if you are in a Very High zone |
|---|---|
| Zone 0 (0–5 ft ember-resistant zone) | City of San Diego: new construction since Feb 28, 2026; existing homes by Feb 28, 2027. Elsewhere: state timeline. Guide. |
| Brush management / defensible space (5–100 ft) | Yes. Zone 1 (5–30 ft) and Zone 2 (30–100 ft) rules apply. Guide. |
| Home-sale defensible space inspection | Yes, in High and Very High zones, since July 1, 2021. $118 in the City of San Diego. Guide. |
| Building code for new construction | Chapter 7A ignition-resistant construction (roof, vents, siding, windows, decks) applies to new homes and many additions. |
| Insurance | Carriers use the same hazard data. Expect questions about defensible space and Zone 0, and possible discounts for completed work under Safer From Wildfires. |
| Real estate disclosure | Sellers must disclose the property is in a fire hazard zone. |
The map changed in 2025. Here is why that matters.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal's 2025 update was the first comprehensive revision of the Local Responsibility Area maps in more than a decade, and it added large areas of San Diego to the Very High category based on vegetation density, slope, and fire history. If you checked years ago and were told you were fine, check again. Many homeowners in Clairemont, University City, and Mira Mesa are in a Very High zone for the first time.
Two different maps, two different agencies. Inside city limits, the Local Responsibility Area map governs and San Diego Fire-Rescue enforces. In unincorporated county, most land is State Responsibility Area, and CAL FIRE / San Diego County Fire enforces under Public Resources Code 4291. If your parcel sits near a city boundary, confirm which agency has jurisdiction — the rules are similar but the deadlines and inspection programs differ.
Next step
Once you know you are in the zone, walk the Zone 0 checklist. If you would rather have a crew assess it, request a free quote and we will connect you with a licensed local company.