Official wildfire programs by county, checked October 2026
By Michael Schuck, ISA Certified Arborist WE-15750A · Updated 2026-10-20
Everything below was checked against the agency's own page in October 2026. Programs marked confirm have pages that haven't been updated for 2026; closed means the agency says so. If you find something stale, email it and it gets fixed and re-dated.
Statewide
- Your fire hazard zone: OSFM LRA map viewer (cities and county fire districts) · SRA viewer (CAL FIRE areas). Bay Area LRA maps were released February 24, 2025.
- Defensible space law and guidance: CAL FIRE Defensible Space · Board of Forestry Zone 0 rulemaking (adopted Aug 19, 2026; withdrawn from OAL Sept 8; not in effect) · our plain-English guide.
- Insurance: CDI Safer from Wildfires · CDI Home Insurance Finder · CDI Consumer Hotline 800-927-4357 · California FAIR Plan · our non-renewal guide.
- Evacuation zones: Genasys Protect — Know Your Zone (used by most Bay Area counties; Marin publishes zones at emergency.marincounty.org).
- PG&E vegetation: hazard trees near lines 1-800-743-5000; tree-work questions 1-800-564-5080; wood left behind 1-800-270-9750. PG&E vegetation management.
- Home sale (AB 38): seller documentation of defensible space compliance in High and Very High zones — OSFM bulletin; CAL FIRE SRA inspection request.
- Not for homeowners: CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Grants (agencies and nonprofits; FY25-26 round closed) and the California Wildfire Mitigation Program home-hardening pilot (no Bay Area communities as of April 2026).
Marin County
The most complete program set in the Bay Area, funded by the Measure C parcel tax through the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA). Marin location page →
- Inspections: MWPA Defensible Space & Home Hardening Evaluations, free, through your local fire agency; you receive an online Wildfire Risk Report. Enforcement sits with the local agency. West Marin: dspace@marinwildfire.org, 415-275-1185. Southern Marin Fire prevention 415-388-8182.
- Chipper Days: Marin Chipper Days — free curbside pickup, six opportunities a year, pre-register at chipperday.com/marin; piles up to 20'×4'×4'. 2026 season nearly over as of October. Southern Marin Fire on-demand chipper (Sausalito, Mill Valley, Tam Valley, Strawberry, Tiburon; takes juniper and cypress, not bamboo). Tiburon FPD drive-in Chipper Days, second Saturday May–September.
- Resident grant: MWPA Resident Grant — up to $2,500 per parcel per year, $15,000 lifetime, no match; Zone 0–1 hazardous vegetation, metal gutters and guards, ember vents, noncombustible fence and gate sections. Requires a recent Wildfire Risk Report; apply inside the report. grants@marinwildfire.org, 415-342-8912. confirm page still labeled FY 2024/25.
- Loans: MWPA / Redwood Credit Union low-interest home-hardening and Zone 0 loans launching October 2026 through the Wildfire Risk Report (September 2026 EO report).
- Direct assistance (crews do the work) for seniors, low-income, disabled: San Rafael — free removal of juniper, Italian cypress, bamboo, acacia; 415-485-3054. San Anselmo (Ross Valley Fire) and Novato Fire (Lynne Osgood, 415-878-2693) run similar programs; Sleepy Hollow FPD covers Zone 0 vegetation and vents.
- Senior Measure C exemption: 65+, owner-occupied, under HUD income limits; apply February–June 30. Details.
- Alerts: Alert Marin · evacuation zones.
- Fire Safe Marin: firesafemarin.org — education, plant guidance, grant index.
East Bay (Alameda and Contra Costa)
- Oakland inspections: Oakland Fire Vegetation Management Unit inspects about 26,000 hills parcels every year; 2026 season began in June; 45-day correction window, re-inspection fees, lien as last resort. The WUI was expanded in June 2025 (Ordinance 13851) to include commercial and mobile-home properties. 510-238-7388, wildfireprevention@oaklandca.gov. Oakland's Zone 0 phase-in: outreach 2026, mock inspections 2027, non-enforced 2028, citations 2029 — contingent on the state rule being final. No city chipper; bulky pickup 510-613-8710.
- Berkeley inspections: Berkeley Fire WUI Division — annual inspections required in the Grizzly Peak and Panoramic mitigation areas (~1,400 parcels) and the Very High zone; Berkeley adopted Zone 0 into its municipal code in June 2025 and began Zone 0 inspections in May 2026. 510-981-5620, wildfire@berkeleyca.gov. Free chipper days through mid-December (reserve at chipperday.com/berkeley) and vegetation debris bins for hills residents (call 311). Resident Assistance Program — City pays a contractor for report items including Zone 0 for 65+, disabled, or low-income owners in the Very High zone; 510-981-3473.
- Moraga-Orinda Fire: Ordinance 23-03 — no Monterey pine or eucalyptus within 5 ft of structures, juniper and bamboo removed within 10 ft of roads and driveways, grass to 3 inches by June 1. Free community chipper (3-home minimum; Orinda via reserve.chipperday.com/orinda); free vent screens and gutter guards.
- Contra Costa County Fire: Wildfire Mitigation Program, 925-941-3300; Measure X community chipping for Firewise communities or groups of 10+ homes confirm.
- Alameda County Fire (Castro Valley, Fairview, unincorporated): free community chipping, OneLessSpark@acgov.org, 510-632-3473 x1190. Hayward/Fairview chipper (fall 2026 applications closed October 1; chipping runs to November 13); Residential Assistance Program grants for senior, disabled, and low-income owners.
- Diablo Fire Safe Council: diablofiresafe.org. Cost-share program closed since May 2025, pending funding.
- Bay Area Air District chipping: closed — not accepting applications.
- Alerts: AC Alert (Alameda) · Contra Costa CWS.
Peninsula (San Mateo County)
- Woodside Fire Protection District (Woodside, Portola Valley, Emerald Hills, Skyline): required home assessments under Ordinance 24-01, about 2,000 parcels a year on a three-year rotation, report within 48 hours, 12 months to comply. 650-851-1594. Free chipper May–November by zone. The 50% reimbursement incentive (up to $7,500) ran June 2024–July 2026 confirm. Ordinance 24-01 interpretation guide — Zone 0 no combustible mulch, limbs 5 ft from structures and 10 ft from chimneys, noncombustible fencing within 6 ft. AB 38 inspections, $498.
- San Mateo County Fire / CAL FIRE CZU (unincorporated): defensible space and AB 38, 650-573-3846, SMCFDFireMarshal@fire.ca.gov.
- San Mateo RCD coastside chipper: neighborhood chipper, 2026 season ran May–July (La Honda, Montara, Moss Beach, El Granada, Pescadero, Loma Mar, Pedro Point).
- FIRE SAFE San Mateo County: firesafesanmateo.org, 650-712-7765 x126.
- Hillsborough, Belmont, San Carlos, Menlo Park: no dedicated inspection or chipper program pages found; rely on county fire and the tree ordinance. Ask on your city page.
- Alerts: SMC Alert.
South Bay (Santa Clara County)
- Santa Clara County Fire (Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Cupertino, Los Altos, Campbell, unincorporated): free voluntary inspections for hillside owners, 408-378-4010.
- Santa Clara County FireSafe Council: community chipping — fall 2026 registration open for Saratoga and the county fire district, free for WUI residents, register at reserve.chipperday.com/santa_clara; SNAP up to $2,500 for chipping prep, Saratoga residents only confirm. 408-975-9591.
- Los Altos Hills County Fire District: free Home Ignition Zone survey with rebate, year-round chipping, third-Saturday vegetation drop-off at Foothill College. Denise Gluhan, 650-518-6068.
- Alerts: AlertSCC.
Santa Cruz County
- Inspections: CAL FIRE CZU in the State Responsibility Area (most of the mountains). Fire Safe Council HIZ assessment — free, volunteer-led, live for 2026; sign up online. Central Fire District (Aptos, Capitola, Soquel, Live Oak) 831-685-6698.
- Chipping: RCD no-cost at-home chipping (register in April, chipping in May; within 100 ft of structures) and neighborhood reimbursement up to $250 per property for HOAs and road associations confirm 2026 dates.
- Measure Q (2024 parcel tax): $2.6M a year to agencies and nonprofits; FY25-26 awards include Zone 0 clearing for 100 high-risk homes (seniors, low-income, disabled) and an RCD rural-lands pilot. FY26-27 applications open late November 2026. Measure Q grants. The county joined the state Fire Risk Reduction Community list in June 2026, which counts toward insurance discounts.
- County wildfire resilience: OR3 Wildfire program, or3staff@santacruzcountyca.gov.
- Alerts: CruzAware via the county page above.
Sources
Every program above links to its own page; those are the sources. Checked October 20, 2026.
Questions we get
Are defensible space inspections free?
The initial inspection is free everywhere in the Bay Area; Oakland charges for re-inspections after a failed notice. MWPA in Marin, Oakland's Vegetation Management Unit, Berkeley Fire, Woodside Fire, Santa Clara County Fire, and the Santa Cruz Fire Safe Council's volunteer HIZ program all inspect at no charge. The exception is an AB 38 inspection for a home sale, which some districts charge for (Woodside: about $498).
Can a homeowner get a grant for vegetation removal?
In Marin, yes: the MWPA Resident Grant pays up to $2,500 per parcel per year for Zone 0–1 clearing and hardening items, with direct-assistance crews in San Rafael, San Anselmo, Novato, and Sleepy Hollow for seniors and low-income residents. Berkeley has a resident assistance program for seniors, disabled, and low-income owners in the Very High zone. Santa Clara County's SNAP covers Saratoga only. Diablo Fire Safe Council's cost-share has been closed since May 2025. Most other programs fund agencies and groups, not individuals.
Is there free chipping?
Marin (Chipper Days, six pickups a year), Berkeley (through mid-December), Moraga-Orinda, Hayward/Fairview, Woodside Fire (May–November), San Mateo RCD coastside, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (fall registration open), and Santa Cruz RCD (spring). Oakland has none — use bulky pickup. The Air District's chipping program is not taking applications.