California officials are again delaying the finalization of rules that could require nearly 2 million homeowners to remove plants and other combustible materials within 5 feet of their homes — a move that has attracted controversy but that experts say could provide a property-saving buffer against fires.
The California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection aims to complete the rules in the first half of 2026, said Tony Anderson, the board’s executive officer. In March, the board will resume work on defining “zone zero,” the ember-resistant area immediately surrounding the perimeter of homes in high-risk wildfire zones — once again blowing past the state’s second deadline for finalizing the regulations. At the earliest, the rules would take effect for existing homes in 2029.
A 2020 state law gave the board until Jan. 1, 2023 to craft zone zero regulations. But after the effort stalled, Gov. Gavin Newsom — a month after the devastating Los Angeles wildfires — issued an executive order reviving the process and ordering the board to finish the rules by year’s end…