Clearance that satisfies the inspector and the carrier.
Zone 0 through Zone 2, worked to the cited standard and documented with dated photos you can submit with an appeal.
The three zones
Where properties actually fail.
Almost every cited failure we see falls in the first thirty feet — and most of it is fixable in a couple of days.
Zone 0
0–5 feet
The ember-resistant zone. Bark mulch off the siding, foundation shrubs out, nothing stored under decks, gutters and roof valleys cleared. This is the zone that saves houses and the one homeowners resist most.
Zone 1
5–30 feet
Lean, clean, and green. Ladder fuels removed, limbs raised to six feet, dead material cleared, and firewood relocated away from the structure.
Zone 2
30–100 feet
Fuel reduction, not removal. Canopy spacing adjusted for slope, understory thinned, and grasses kept to four inches through fire season.
Facing a non-renewal deadline?
Send us the carrier’s letter with your estimate request. We map the cited items against the zones, work the list, and hand back a dated before-and-after set organized the way adjusters expect to receive it.
Start the appeal workQuestions
Defensible space, answered plainly.
State law requires 100 feet of defensible space around structures, split into zones: Zone 0 (0–5 ft, ember-resistant), Zone 1 (5–30 ft, lean and green), and Zone 2 (30–100 ft, reduced fuel). Counties and carriers layer their own standards on top, which is where most non-renewals come from.
Need the whole parcel opened up instead? See land and lot clearing.
Free estimate
Tell us what you're looking at. We'll tell you what it takes.
Send photos and a few details, or call and talk to the person who will walk your property. Estimates are free and typically scheduled within 48 hours.