News of the Zone 0 fire mandate rulemaking from Zone 0 Watchdog
Cutting through the politics and pseudoscience of California’s “Zone 0” defensible-space mandate.
California’s proposed Zone 0 regulation would strip all vegetation within five feet of every home in the state’s fire zones — a blanket rule based not on ecological fire science but on insurance modeling and political expedience.
The Zone 0 Report exists to fill a critical information gap. Here you’ll find clear, evidence-based reporting on the science, legislation, and industry forces shaping this policy — and real solutions that protect both homes and habitats.
The Zone 0 Watchdogs investigate the science, the legislation, and the economics behind this regulation - and uplifts real solutions that protect homes and neighborhoods.
News & Updates
Stay current on legislative hearings, rule revisions, and city resolutions opposing or modifying Zone 0. Monthly digests summarize new research, agency developments, and Zone 0 Watchdog responses. Featured articles and a record of our ongoing engagement with policymakers, and the public agency. These articles and comment letters challenge misinformation, expose hidden influences, and advocate for wildfire strategies grounded in fire ecology, not fear.
Coalition stands with Los Angeles City Council’s unanimous vote rejecting one-size-fits-all vegetation removal regulations
October 14, 2025
LOS ANGELES, CA — Homeowner and resident organizations from across the City of Los Angeles’ most fire-prone neighborhoods, representing thousands of households, have submitted a joint letter to the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (BOF) opposing the proposed Zone 0 Defensible Space regulations..
Zone 0 and the Death of Local Control: Sacramento’s Fire Experiment in Our Yards
October 16, 2025
On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1455, authorizing the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to impose new “Zone 0” regulations—the so-called ember-resistant zone—within five feet of every structure in California in the very high fire hazard severity zones.
How the Insurance Industry Quietly Rewrote California’s Fire Policy
July, 2025
When California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara appeared on KGO-TV’s ABC 7 News, he promised to “stabilize the insurance market” and “get this done within one year.” His new “Sustainable Insurance Strategy,” he said, would bring insurers back to wildfire-prone areas and lower premiums for homeowners. But as reporter Stephanie Sierra pressed him on-air, Lara’s plan revealed something else entirely: a massive concession to the insurance industry — one that mirrors the same regulatory philosophy behind Zone 0. is rewriting its fire policy to fit their risk models.