Prepare Your Home

Del Mar’s homes, mature vegetation, slopes, canyons, and narrow streets create different wildfire risks from one neighborhood to another. Embers, vegetation near structures, and limited access can all affect how a property is exposed during a wildfire.

Use the sections below to understand your property and the steps you can take to reduce risk, improve defensible space, and make your home more resistant to wildfire.

Defensible Space

Defensible space is the area around a home where vegetation and other combustible materials are managed to reduce fire intensity.

In Del Mar, closely spaced homes, slopes, canyons, mature vegetation, and limited setbacks make regular maintenance especially important.

Reducing dead vegetation, breaking up ladder fuels, and maintaining clear access can help protect individual homes and the surrounding neighborhood.

View CAL FIRE Defensible Space

Request Defensible Space Inspection

See Wildfire Protection in Action

California is moving toward new Zone 0 requirements for the first five feet around homes. This area is critical because wind-blown embers can ignite combustible materials next to a structure.

On August 19, 2026, the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved the final draft of the Zone 0 regulations.

The regulations are not yet in effect, but homeowners can start reducing risk now by removing dead vegetation, moving firewood and other combustible materials away from the home, and reviewing combustible mulch, fencing, and items stored next to or beneath structures.

Official Zone 0 Information

Zone 0 is the first five feet around a home or other structure.

ZONE 0 - THE FIRST FIVE FEET

Home Hardening

Embers can enter through vents, collect in gutters, and ignite roofs, decks, fences, and nearby materials. Small improvements can reduce these vulnerabilities.

CAL FIRE offers home-hardening guidance and a self-assessment to help identify areas to improve.

Del Mar requires wildfire flame- and ember-resistant vents for residential construction, remodels, additions, alterations and re-roofs. DMCC 10.04.150

View CAL FIRE Home Hardening

Take the Home Self-Assessment

Del Mar Vent Requirements

Diagram showing how shrubs and lower tree branches create ladder fuels

Low vegetation, shrubs, and lower tree branches can create a continuous path that allows fire to climb into taller vegetation and tree canopies.

Managing these ladder fuels is especially important on Del Mar’s slopes and where dense vegetation is close to homes and evacuation routes.

Ladder Fuels

Spacing vegetation can help reduce the chance of fire moving from plant to plant or reaching a structure. Distance should increase on slopes and as vegetation gets taller.

Vegetation Spacing

CAL FIRE Vegetation-Spacing Guide

Keep Access Clear

Vegetation along driveways and roads can affect evacuation, visibility, and emergency access. Del Mar’s Fire Code recognizes obstructed emergency access or egress as a fire hazard. DMCC 10.04.030

Keep driveways and access routes clear
Trim vegetation that narrows roads or blocks sightlines
Maintain access for fire engines and emergency vehicles

Del Mar Fire Access Requirements

Designed to Survive Wildfire

A Real-World Example from the Thomas Fire

During the Thomas Fire, this Ventura County home survived after being designed and landscaped with wildfire in mind.

The home combined home hardening with defensible space to reduce its wildfire risk.

Learn More About the Project

This information is provided for general education.

Follow current City of Del Mar and CAL FIRE guidance and applicable fire and building codes for your property.