Is California Getting To The Root Of The Fire Problem?
Recently we talked about how insurance has quietly become one of the biggest deal-killers in California real estate, sometimes worse than financing itself. Turns out the state's been working on the actual source of that problem.
On August 19, California's Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved the nation's first Zone 0 defensible space regulation, rules covering the five feet immediately surrounding a home, the area research shows is most vulnerable to ember ignition during a wildfire. Within that five feet, an even tighter buffer sits directly against the structure and under the eaves, where no vegetation is allowed at all. The rest of the zone permits some landscaping, well-maintained plants and grass, but nothing combustible like mulch, dead leaves, or firewood stacked near the walls.
Existing homes get a phased timeline: three years for the basics like yard cleanup and tree trimming, five years for bigger items like non-combustible gates. New construction has to comply as soon as the regulation is formally adopted. The rules apply specifically to homes in State Responsibility Areas and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.
Thought we’d suggest to anyone buying, flipping, or building in one of those zones, that it's worth factoring into the numbers early, before a rehab budget or construction plan is locked in, not after.
Suggestions like this are just another reason we’re the Private Money Lender everyone’s starting to talk about.
Source: California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, press release, August 19, 2026
Husband & Wife Team Phone: 707‑708‑0797 / Office: 1400 N. Dutton Ave #22 Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Ken: CA DRE Broker #01858042 / NMLS #1221130 Ari: CA DRE #01858152 / NMLS #2170867 Ken & Ari are a husband & wife team with combined 3+ decades in real estate and private money industries. They own Pacific Direct Mortgage & Real Estate, specializing in Private Money loans (also known as Hard Money home loans). Having helped thousands of Borrowers & working directly with Brokers, Agents and Lenders to help when needed with fast, flexible, alternative financing for real estate purchases and refinances throughout California. No issues with DTI ratios, credit issues, property condition, difficult to prove income ‑ we want to help
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