FHSZ Landscaping and Vegetation Requirements

The San Bruno Fire Department is launching a coordinated defensible space and vegetation management program to reduce fuels around homes and along key access routes. Crews and prevention staff will conduct systematic inspections in the mapped zones, provide property‑specific guidance on creating and maintaining defensible space, and issue notices when vegetation poses an unacceptable risk. The department will emphasize education and voluntary compliance first—through mailers and on-site consultations—so that residents understand what to do in the 0–5-foot, 5–30-foot, and 30–100-foot zones around structures.

Vegetation pictogram

Where hazards remain after notice and a reasonable time to correct them, the Fire Department will use its enforcement tools, including follow‑up inspections and, when necessary, citations or abatement actions, to ensure vegetation is managed in accordance with safety standards. The goal is not simply to meet a code requirement, but to slow or stop wildfire before it reaches homes, protect firefighters working in threatened neighborhoods, and improve the overall resilience of the community. By working together—residents managing vegetation on their properties and the Fire Department providing clear expectations and support—we can significantly reduce the risk that a future wildfire will become a community‑wide disaster.

Reduce fire intensity and spread

  • Defensible space reduces available fuel around a building, which lowers flame length and heat as a fire approaches.
  • Breaking up continuous fuels and ladder fuels helps keep the fire on the ground instead of in tree crowns, making it more controllable.

Protect structures from ignition

  • The cleared and modified zones around the home reduce the likelihood that direct flame contact, radiant heat, or wind‑blown embers will ignite the structure.
  • Zone 0 (0–5 feet) is particularly aimed at preventing embers from igniting combustible materials adjacent to the building.

Improve firefighter safety and effectiveness

  • A good defensible space creates a safe working environment, allowing crews to position engines, deploy hose lines, and defend the structure without unacceptable risk.
  • Fire agencies explicitly describe defensible space as providing the “defensible” area they need to make an effective stand against an advancing fire front.

Support community‑level resilience

  • When many parcels maintain defensible space, it reduces the chance of house‑to‑house fire spread and contributes to a more fire‑adapted community.
  • State guidance frames defensible space as the first line of defense in the overall strategy of home hardening, land‑use planning, and emergency response.