Compliance Standards for Vegetation Inspections
The Oakland Fire Department created this checklist to help residents in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Area understand what to maintain at their homes to prevent fire, as required by City and State fire codes.
Parcels located in the WUI Fire Area must meet the standards below. Inspectors verify each item during yearly vegetation inspections. Visit the Wildfire District Inspections page for more on how inspections work.
The items below summarize the California Fire Code (CFC), the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (WUI) and the Oakland Fire Code.
California Fire Code (CFC)
California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (WUI)
Ordinance No. 13870, Oakland Fire Code, adopted December 2025
Vegetation Inspection Requirements
Maintain defensible space
Maintain at least 30 feet of defensible space (Zone 1) and up to 100 feet (Zone 2) around your home, depending on the slope of your property. (WUI 604)
Additional Information
How?
Along with meeting the requirements below, you should:
- Cut or remove ground fuels such as grass, small shrubs and dead leaves or branches.
- Maintain all vegetation growing around the property. Do not let it grow feral.
- Create horizontal separation between individual plants.
Why?
Defensible space around your home can slow or stop the spread of wildfire. The more homes that create defensible space, the more resilient our community becomes.
Remove clippings and mulch
Do not leave cut grass or other vegetation more than 3 inches deep. Do not leave wood chips or mulch more than 12 inches deep. (WUI 604)
Additional Information
How?
- Remove or safely dispose of all cut vegetation and hazardous refuse.
- Cut grass may stay on a slope to protect the soil, up to 3 inches deep.
- Chipped or mulched vegetation may stay on a slope, up to 12 inches deep.
Why?
These materials can light easily from flying embers during a wildfire. A thick layer insulates heat and lets fire smolder longer.
Remove combustible waste and store firewood properly
Do not store combustible or flammable materials, including weeds and trash, anywhere on your property, even outside Zones 1 and 2. Store firewood at least 20 feet from structures and 10 feet from other flammable materials. (WUI 604, WUI 607)
Additional Information
How?
- Store firewood at least 30 feet from structures and never under decks, eaves or overhangs, unless it's covered with fire-resistant material.
- Keep a 10-foot clearing of bare soil around any wood pile within your defensible space.
- Remove any collection of flammable materials from the property, including wastepaper, lumber, hay, straw, weeds, boxes and construction material.
Why?
Dense materials add fuel load and give flying embers an easy point of ignition.
Move sources of ignition at least 30 feet from combustibles
Keep anything that can start a fire, including grills, BBQs, fire pits, torches and any device that generates flame or heat, at least 30 feet from combustible materials, even when not in use. (WUI 604)
Additional Information
How?
- Maintain at least 30 feet of clearance between ignition sources and grass, brush or other combustible materials.
- Keep any source of ignition at least 30 feet from anything it could ignite.
Why?
Gas grills caused an average of 9,287 home fires per year from 2019 to 2023 (National Fire Protection Association). Separating ignition sources from combustible materials greatly reduces your risk of a fire spreading.
Clear dead vegetation off roofs and gutters
Remove dead and dying vegetation, such as pine needles and leaves, from your roof and gutters. (WUI 604)
Additional Information
How?
- Clear all dead leaves, pine needles and other debris from your roof and gutters.
- Check these areas regularly, especially after wind or storms and during peak leaf-drop season.
- Make sure gutters, roof angles, skylight edges and the areas behind chimneys and vents are free of debris.
Why?
Embers collecting in these areas are one of the greatest fire hazards for a structure. Dry leaves and needles fuel a fire and give it direct access to your home.
Trim vegetation near rooflines and chimneys
Remove all tree limbs and vegetation within 10 feet of your roofline and any structures above it. This also applies to chimneys and rooftop exhaust pipes, including those not in use. (WUI 604)
Additional Information
How?
- You don't need to remove a tree entirely. Prune only the branches that overhang, touch or dangle over the structure, or that are dead.
- Prune limbs back at least 10 feet from any structure to create space between vegetation and your home.
- Maintain the health of the tree while prioritizing fire safety.
Why?
Tree branches can act as a direct path for fire to reach your home.
Limb up trees
Remove all tree limbs that hang within 6 feet of the ground. (WUI 604)
Additional Information
How?
- Create vertical separation between the ground and the lowest limbs of trees.
- Limb trees up to 6 feet from the ground.
- For smaller trees, limb up to a quarter of the tree's total height.
Why?
Removing these "ladder fuels" helps stop a ground fire from spreading to the upper branches, or crowns, of trees. This is a key factor in slowing the spread of wildfire.
Maintain address numbers
Address numbers must be at least 4 inches tall, reflectorized, in a contrasting color and clearly visible from the street. Remove or prune any vegetation that blocks visibility so first responders can read your address from the roadway. (CFC 505.1, WUI 403.2.4)
Additional Information
How?
- Make sure numbers are large enough to read clearly from the street.
- Place them in a visible, unobstructed area.
- Prune any vegetation that has grown in front of your address numbers.
Why?
Address numbers help first responders locate your home quickly in an emergency.
Clear above and along roadsides
Maintain at least 10 feet of horizontal clearance along, and 13.5 feet of vertical clearance above, all roadsides, driveways, parking lots and fire trails on your property. (CFC 503.2.1)
Additional Information
How?
- Limb up trees or remove branches that hang within 13.5 feet above roadways.
- Remove dense, dry brush within 10 feet of roadways.
- Remove any brush left by residents on the roadside promptly.
Why?
Narrow, overgrown roads are a serious hazard during a wildfire. Clearing vegetation improves evacuation routes and gives first responders safer, easier access to your home.