# What would California's Zone 0 rules mean for your backyard fence? > What California's proposed Zone 0 rules would mean for fences: the five feet next to the house, existing wood fences, gates that attach, and what to do now. URL: https://caskfencetemecula.com/blog/zone-0-rules-and-backyard-fences/ News The Board of Forestry's draft Zone 0 rules reach the five feet around a home, and fences that touch the house are named. Here's what the draft says, what isn't settled, and what's sensible now. Last Updated: October 31, 2026 Proposed, not in force. Check the Board of Forestry for current status before you plan around a date. a the five feet nearest the house b where the fence attaches 1. **a** the five feet nearest the house 2. **b** where the fence attaches California’s proposed Zone 0 rules would bar new combustible fences within five feet of a home in the highest-hazard areas, let existing fences stay and be repaired, and require a noncombustible section where a fence or gate attaches to the house within five years. Those details come from a Board of Forestry staff memo released in July 2026. The rules are moving toward adoption, but their final text and effective date haven’t been confirmed at an official source, so treat everything below as proposed. Key takeaways - Zone 0 is the five feet around a home. The fence part of the draft is about that strip. - The draft would apply in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in local responsibility areas and in state responsibility areas. - New combustible fences within five feet of the house would be barred. Existing ones could stay and be repaired in kind. - Where a fence or gate attaches to the house, a noncombustible section would be required within five years. - Fences more than five feet out would be unaffected. ## What the draft says about fences The Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has been writing Zone 0 regulations under AB 3074, the state law that created the ember-resistant zone around homes. A July 2026 [staff memo to the Board](https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/bof-website/projects-and-programs/defensible-space-zones-0-1-2/previous-public-workshops-and-materials/2026/july-23-2026-workshop-material/july-2026-zone-zero-clarification-memo-to-the-board.pdf) set out how the draft treats fences: | Situation | What the draft would do | | --- | --- | | New combustible fence within 5 ft of a structure | Prohibited | | Existing combustible fence within 5 ft | May remain and be repaired with the same materials | | Fence or gate that attaches to an occupied structure | Noncombustible section required within five years, such as a noncombustible gate | | Fence more than 5 ft from the structure | Unaffected | | New construction | Applies immediately; existing homes phased | The reasoning is the same one behind the rest of Zone 0. Embers land against walls, and a wood fence that touches the house can carry fire straight to the siding or eaves. A metal gate or masonry section at the connection breaks that path. ## What isn’t settled The memo set the draft for Board consideration in August 2026, and staff expected the rules could take effect after the Office of Administrative Law approved them. Final adoption and the effective date have not been confirmed from an official source for this article, and the Board’s own [Zone 0 page](https://bof.fire.ca.gov/projects-and-programs/defensible-space-zones-0-1-2/) is the place to check. Until then, the details above could change, including the five-year window and what counts as noncombustible. ## Does it reach your address? Only if the parcel is in a Very High zone in a local responsibility area or anywhere in a state responsibility area. In the Temecula area the answer changes block by block. CAL FIRE’s sample points put the Redhawk area of Temecula, the Lake Elsinore and Wildomar city centers, and the wine country, La Cresta, the Santa Rosa Plateau and De Luz in Very High zones. Harveston’s point maps High, Canyon Lake’s Moderate, and the Murrieta, Menifee, French Valley and Fallbrook center points fall outside a mapped zone. Those are single points, not answers for a street. Temecula owners can look up an address on the city’s [fire hazard severity map](https://temeculaca.gov/1651/Fire-Hazard-Severity-Map); elsewhere, CAL FIRE’s map gives the zone. ## What to do now **Don’t tear out a sound fence.** Under the draft, an existing fence could stay and be repaired. Removing it early buys nothing. **Measure the five feet.** Walk out five feet from the house along each fence that runs toward it. That’s the length the rule would care about, and it’s often a single panel, a gate or both. **Plan the connection at the next replacement.** If a side yard fence or gate is due anyway, that’s the simplest time to build the section nearest the house in metal or masonry, which would meet the draft. [Wrought iron](https://caskfencetemecula.com/wrought-iron-fence-installation/), aluminum and a short block return are the usual answers, and [gate installation](https://caskfencetemecula.com/gate-installation/) covers the gate itself. **Mind the HOA.** A metal gate in a wood fence line changes how it looks, so the association may need to approve it. The [HOA approval guide](https://caskfencetemecula.com/guide/hoa-fence-approval/) covers that step. **Know your material.** Vinyl is still a combustible material: it softens in heat and burns in a fire. The [vinyl in heat and fire guide](https://caskfencetemecula.com/guide/vinyl-fence-heat-fire/) explains how it behaves. [Cask Fence Temecula](https://caskfencetemecula.com/) plans and manages fence and gate work in Temecula and southwest Riverside County, carried out by licensed and insured contractors. The [fire-resistant fence page](https://caskfencetemecula.com/fire-resistant-fence-installation/) goes further on materials, the [planning guide](https://caskfencetemecula.com/guide/temecula-fence-planning/) covers the rest of a fence decision, and the [contact page](https://caskfencetemecula.com/contact/) is the way to send photos of where your fence meets the house. ## Questions about this post ### Will I have to tear out my wood fence under Zone 0? Under the draft described in the Board of Forestry's July 2026 staff memo, no. Existing combustible fences could stay and be repaired with the same materials. The change would come where a fence or gate attaches to the house: that connection would need a noncombustible section within five years. The rules are proposed, so check the Board's current text before acting. ### Does Zone 0 apply to the fence across the back of my lot? Not under the draft, if it stands more than five feet from the house. The memo says fences beyond five feet of a structure would be unaffected. Zone 0 is the ember-resistant zone right around the home, so a rear property line fence or a side yard fence well away from the walls falls outside it. The part that matters is where a fence runs toward or attaches to the house. ### What counts as a noncombustible section where a fence meets the house? The memo gives a noncombustible gate as an example. In practice that usually means metal: a steel or aluminum gate or panel, or a short masonry return, filling the length nearest the wall so a burning fence can't carry fire to the house. The exact length and acceptable materials depend on the final adopted text, so confirm them before buying anything. ## Keep reading Learn Does vinyl fence melt? Summer sun won't melt a vinyl fence, but a grill, a fire pit or a wildfire can. Here's how vinyl behaves in heat and flame, and where it shouldn't go. Learn How do you plan a fence in Temecula? Every decision behind a Temecula fence, in the order they come up: what it's for, where the line is, who has to approve it, what's under the ground and what the build day looks like. Decision Guide Should you repair or replace a fence? One broken post and a fence that is failing post after post look alike from the patio. Here is how to tell them apart, and what changes the answer in Temecula. Learn How do you get HOA approval for a fence in Temecula? What the association owes you under state law, what to put in the application so it isn't sent back, and how approval fits around the neighbor notice, permits and the build. Learn What are the fence height rules in Temecula? Height is decided in more than one office. Here is which rule applies to a fence, a block wall, a retaining wall or a pool barrier, and what each one actually says.