SB629 - Wildfires: fire hazard severity zones: post-wildfire safety areas.

Enrolled September 18, 2025 Passed IN Senate September 13, 2025 Passed IN Assembly September 12, 2025 Amended IN Assembly September 02, 2025 Amended IN Assembly July 16, 2025 Amended IN Assembly July 03, 2025 Amended IN Senate May 01, 2025 Amended IN Senate March 26, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 629 Introduced by Senator Durazo (Principal coauthors: Senators Cortese, Menjivar, Pérez, Reyes, Smallwood-Cuevas, and Stern) February 20, 2025 An act to amend Sections 51178, 51181, and 65302 of, and to add Section 51179.5 to, the Government Code, and to amend Sections 4202 and 4204 of the Public Resources Code, relating to wildfires. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 629, Durazo. Wildfires: fire hazard severity zones: post-wildfire safety areas. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas of the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on specified criteria. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to periodically review the areas in the state identified as very high fire hazard severity zones, as specified. Existing law requires a local agency, within 30 days after receiving a transmittal from the State Fire Marshal that identifies those fire hazard severity zones, to make the information available for public review and comment, and to present the information in a format that is understandable and accessible to the general public, including, but not limited to, maps. Existing law requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains an occupied dwelling or structure in a very high fire hazard severity zone to take certain fire risk management measures, including maintaining defensible space of 100 feet from each side of the structure, except as provided. Existing law requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal to develop a model defensible space program, as provided, that includes, but is not limited to, specified components, including enforcement mechanisms for compliance with and maintenance of defensible space requirements. Existing law includes among these enforcement mechanisms, among other things, site inspections. This bill would require the factors on which the fire severity zones are based to include areas within the perimeter of a wildfire that burned 1,000 or more acres, destroyed more than 10 structures, or resulted in a fatality, and to include areas at risk for an urban conflagration that accounts for the potential for structures to serve as a fuel source that extends the ember cast outside of wildland areas and areas where agricultural land affects fire hazard. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to publish the model and methodology used to develop the fire hazard severity zones on its internet website at least 60 days before finalizing those designations and to publish the model and methodology for specified factors whenever the State Fire Marshal reviews the fire severity zones. This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to designate any area that is within the perimeter of a wildfire described above occurring on or after January 1, 2025, as a post-wildfire safety area, as defined, and to transmit a map of the post-wildfire safety area to any local agency with jurisdiction over territory in the designated area within a specified timeframe. Within a certain timeframe following the transmission of the map by the State Fire Marshal, this bill would require the designation of a post-wildfire safety area to trigger the application of state fire protection standards, as defined, in the area. The bill would exempt any designation of a post-wildfire safety area by the State Fire Marshal from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would require a local agency to, within 10 business days of receiving the map, post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and city or county planning agency identifying the location of the post-wildfire safety area, and to post the map on its internet website. By requiring local agencies to take specified actions regarding post-wildfire safety areas, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The Planning and Zoning Law requires the legislative body of a city or county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan that includes various elements, including, among others, a safety element for the protection of the community from specified risks. Existing law requires, upon the next revision of the housing element on or after January 1, 2014, the safety element to be reviewed and updated as necessary to address the risk of fire for land classified as state responsibility areas and land classified as very high fire hazard severity zones, as defined. This bill would additionally require the safety element to be reviewed and updated as necessary to address the risk of fire for land classified as a post-wildfire safety area. By requiring local entities to take specified actions regarding the safety elements of their general plans, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) Numerous studies indicate that two of the most important factors for increasing the survivability of homes in the face of wildfire are building to the state’s wildland-urban interface (WUI) building standards and maintaining defensible space as required by Section 4290 of the Public Resources Code. Homes built to these standards are up to 40 percent less likely to be destroyed by a wildfire. These measures are critical in reducing property loss, protecting lives, and aiding firefighting efforts. (2) Building to the WUI building standards is cost effective. Several studies demonstrate that building to the WUI standards costs the same as, or less than, building to the standards that apply in the rest of the state. (3) Building to the WUI building standards and maintaining defensible space also qualifies homeowners for discounts on their insurance under the Safer from Wildfire Framework developed by the Department of Insurance. (4) Only homes in certain fire hazard severity zones designated by the State Fire Marshal must be built to the WUI building standards and maintain defensible space. Similarly, the state’s standards for fire safe roads for new development and legislative requirements to plan for and mitigate the threat of wildfire also only apply in those zones. (5) Current maps of fire hazard severity zones do not account for the potential for homes and other buildings to act as fuel and spread wildfire. Accordingly, significant areas that have burned in wildfires in recent years are not included in a fire hazard severity zone, including Coffey Park in the County of Sonoma. (b) This act shall be known and may be cited as the Keeping Communities Safe from Wildfire Act of 2025. SEC. 2. Section 51178 of the Government Code is amended to read: 51178. (a) The State Fire Marshal shall identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones shall be based on fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and other relevant factors including all of the following: (1) Areas where winds have been identified by the Office of the State Fire Marshal as a major cause of wildfire spread. (2) Areas burned in a wildfire, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 51179.5. (3) Areas at risk for an urban conflagration that accounts for the potential for structures to serve as a fuel source that extends the ember cast outside of wildland areas. (4) Areas where agricultural land affects fire hazard. (b) The State Fire Marshal shall, at least 60 days before finalizing the designations pursuant to subdivision (a), publish the model and methodology used to develop the fire hazard severity zones on its internet website. SEC. 3. Section 51179.5 is added to the Government Code, to read: 51179.5. (a) For purposes of this section: (1) “Area burned in a wildfire” means any land area included within the perimeter of a wildfire, as shown on an incident map posted on the internet website of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, that meets any of the following conditions: (A) The wildfire burned 1,000 or more acres. (B) The wildfire destroyed more than 10 structures. (C) The wildfire resulted in one or more fatalities. (2) “Post-wildfire safety area” means an area burned in a wildfire as designated pursuant to subdivision (b). (3) “State fire protection standards” means all of the following, or their successor provisions: (A) Chapter 7A of the California Building Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations). (B) Chapter 49 of the California Fire Code. (C) Section R337 of the California Residential Code. (D) Chapter 12-7A of the California Referenced Standards Code. (E) Subchapter 2 (commencing with Section 1270) of Chapter 7 of Division 1.5 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. (F) Article 3 (commencing with Section 1299) of Subchapter 3 of Chapter 7 of Division 1.5 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. (G) Regulations implementing an ember-resistant zone pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 51182. (b) (1) For wildfires occurring on or after January 1, 2025, the State Fire Marshal shall designate any area burned in a wildfire as a post-wildfire safety area and shall transmit a map of the post-wildfire safety area to any local agency with jurisdiction over territory in the designated area within 90 days of the wildfire reaching 100 percent containment, or by May 1, 2026, whichever is later. (2) The designation of a post-wildfire safety area by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to this subdivision shall be exempt from the rulemaking provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2. (c) The local agency shall, within 10 business days of receiving the map transmitted pursuant to subdivision (b), and in a manner consistent with subdivision (g) of Section 51179, post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and city or county planning agency identifying the location of the post-wildfire safety area. The map of the post-wildfire safety area shall also be posted on the internet website of the local agency. (d) The designation of a post-wildfire safety area pursuant to subdivision (b) shall trigger the application of the state fire protection standards in a post-wildfire safety area 30 days following the transmission of the map by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to subdivision (b). (e) A city or county with territory in a post-wildfire safety area shall comply with paragraph (3) of subdivision (g) of Section 65302 according to the schedule provided in that subdivision. SEC. 4. Section 51181 of the Government Code is amended to read: 51181. (a) The State Fire Marshal shall periodically review the areas in the state identified as very high fire hazard severity zones pursuant to this chapter, and as necessary, shall make recommendations relative to very high fire hazard severity zones. This review shall coincide with the review of state responsibility area lands every five years and, when possible, fall within the time frames for each county’s general plan update. Any revision of areas included in a very high fire hazard severity zone shall be made in accordance with Sections 51178 and 51179. (b) Whenever the State Fire Marshal reviews areas pursuant to subdivision (a), the State Fire Marshal shall publish, in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 51178, the model and methodology used pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 51178. SEC. 5. Section 65302 of the Government Code is amended to read: 65302. The general plan shall consist of a statement of development policies and shall include a diagram or diagrams and text setting forth objectives, principles, standards, and plan proposals. The plan shall include the following elements: (a) A land use element that designates the proposed general distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land for housing, business, industry, open space, including agriculture, natural resources, recreation, and enjoyment of scenic beauty, education, public buildings and grounds, solid and liquid waste disposal facilities, greenways, as defined in Section 816.52 of the Civil Code, and other categories of public and private uses of land. The location and designation of the extent of the uses of the land for public and private uses shall consider the identification of land and natural resources pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (d). The land use element shall include a statement of the standards of population density and building intensity recommended for the various districts and other territory covered by the plan. The land use element shall identify and annually review those areas covered by the plan that are subject to flooding identified by flood plain mapping prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Department of Water Resources. The land use element shall also do both of the following: (1) Designate in a land use category that provides for timber production those parcels of real property zoned for timberland production pursuant to the California Timberland Productivity Act of 1982 (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 51100) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5). (2) Consider the impact of new growth on military readiness activities carried out on military bases, installations, and operating and training areas, when proposing zoning ordinances or designating land uses covered by the general plan for land, or other territory adjacent to military facilities, or underlying designated military aviation routes and airspace. (A) In determining the impact of new growth on military readiness activities, information provided by military facilities shall be considered. Cities and counties shall address military impacts based on information from the military and other sources. (B) The following definitions govern this paragraph: (i) “Military readiness activities” mean all of the following: (I) Training, support, and operations that prepare the members of the military for combat. (II [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]