CHAPTER 1. Prevention and Control of Forest Fires
Chapter 1 added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1144.
§§ 4101–4209.5 · 90 sections
ARTICLE 1. Definitions §§ 4101–4104 · 6 sections
- § 4101 “Person” includes any agency of the state, county, city, district, or other local public agency, and any individual, firm, association, partnership, business…
- § 4102 “State responsibility areas” means areas of the state in which the financial responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires has been determined by the…
- § 4103 “Forest fire” means a fire burning uncontrolled on lands covered wholly or in part by timber, brush, grass, grain, or other flammable vegetation.
- § 4103.4 “Open fire” means any fire, controlled or uncontrolled, including a campfire, burning outside of any structure, mobilehome, or living accommodation mounted on…
- § 4103.5 “Campfire” means a fire which is used for cooking, personal warmth, lighting, ceremonial, or aesthetic purposes, including fires contained within outdoor…
- § 4104 The term “uncontrolled fire,” as used in this division, means any fire which threatens to destroy life, property, or resources and either: (1) is unattended by…
ARTICLE 2. General Provisions §§ 4111–4123.8 · 18 sections
- § 4111 The board shall make and enforce such regulations as are necessary and proper for the organization, maintenance, government, and direction of the fire…
- § 4112 The department shall divide the state into a suitable and convenient number of administrative districts and shall appoint a supervising forest officer for each…
- § 4113 The supervising forest officers shall, under the direction of the director, have charge of the firefighting system and men in such districts, and are charged…
- § 4114 (a) The department, in accordance with a plan approved by the board, shall do all of the following: (1) Provide fire prevention and firefighting implements and…
- § 4114.1 (a) Subject to an appropriation of funds for this purpose, the department shall begin to employ sufficient permanent firefighting personnel to increase the…
- § 4114.3 (a) (1) The department shall actively engage University of California Cooperative Extension, relevant California State Universities, fire safe councils,…
- § 4114.4 (a) (1) On or before January 1, 2026, the department, in coordination with the United States Forest Service and other relevant state, federal, tribal, local,…
- § 4114.5 (a) A contract with a nonpublic entity entered into by the department that includes a provision for the services of pilots to fly firefighting aircraft owned…
- § 4115 In providing communications, telecommunications, and necessary powerlines in connection with the prevention and extinguishment of forest fires, the department,…
- § 4116 Any claim for damages arising against the state under Section 4114 or 4115 shall be presented to the Department of General Services in accordance with Part 3…
- § 4117 Any county, city, or district may adopt ordinances, rules, or regulations to provide fire prevention restrictions or regulations that are necessary to meet…
- § 4118 The burning of growing, dead, or downed vegetation is for a public purpose if the department has determined that the burning of such vegetation is necessary…
- § 4119 The department, or its duly authorized agent, shall enforce the state forest and fire laws. The department may inspect all properties, except the interior of…
- § 4120 Notwithstanding any other provision of this code or of law and except as provided in the State Building Standards Law, Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 18901)…
- § 4123 When selecting a fuel reduction project, the department shall collaborate with the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Geological Survey, and…
- § 4123.5 (a) The department shall create the Wildfire Resilience Program. The purpose of the program is to assist nonindustrial timberland owners with wildfire…
- § 4123.7 (a) On or before July 1, 2021, the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with the State Fire Marshal and the Forest Management Task Force, shall review the…
- § 4123.8 (a) On or before January 1, 2026, the department, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board and the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, shall…
ARTICLE 2.5. Fire Prevention Grants Program §§ 4124–4124.8 · 5 sections
- § 4124 For the purposes of this article, “fire prevention activities” means those lawful activities that reduce the risk of wildfire in California, including, but not…
- § 4124.5 (a) The department shall establish a local assistance grant program for fire prevention and home hardening education activities in California. Groups eligible…
- § 4124.6 (a) On or before January 31, 2022, the director shall hold a public workshop to do all of the following: (1) Review activities funded by the local assistance…
- § 4124.7 (a) The department shall, except for activities described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 4124.5, prioritize local assistance grant funding…
- § 4124.8 On or before June 1, 2022, all of the duties and responsibilities for the local assistance grant program established pursuant to this article shall be…
ARTICLE 3. Responsibility for Fire Protection §§ 4125–4137 · 14 sections
- § 4125 (a) The board shall classify all lands within the state, without regard to any classification of lands made by or for any federal agency or purpose, for the…
- § 4126 The board shall include within state responsibility areas all of the following lands: (a) Lands covered wholly or in part by forests or by trees producing or…
- § 4127 The board shall not include within state responsibility areas any of the following lands: (a) Lands owned or controlled by the federal government or any agency…
- § 4128 In establishing boundaries of state responsibility areas, the board may, for purposes of administrative convenience, designate roads, pipelines, streams, or…
- § 4129 The board of supervisors of any county may provide by ordinance that the county elects to assume responsibility for the prevention and suppression of all fires…
- § 4129.1 When the incorporation of a city removes land from a state responsibility area and the county continues to provide residential fire service for the newly…
- § 4130 The board shall classify all lands within state responsibility areas into types of land based on cover, beneficial use of water from watersheds, probable…
- § 4131 In the preparation of budgets for fire protection, the total funds available or estimated to be available shall be allocated to the areas to be protected in…
- § 4132 In those counties assuming responsibility pursuant to Section 4129 for fire protection and suppression in the lands thus classified within the respective…
- § 4133 The department shall, with the approval of the Department of General Services, for periods not to exceed three years, enter into a contract with any county…
- § 4134 Any such contract shall provide for payment to such county, as compensation for the assumption of the duty, power, authority and responsibility for fire…
- § 4135 Sections 4129 to 4135, inclusive, do not deprive the department of the power and duty to require that the money paid by the department under the contract to a…
- § 4136 (a) A transferor of real property that is located within a state responsibility area determined by the board, pursuant to Section 4125, shall disclose to a…
- § 4137 (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms apply: (1) “Activities” means the specific actions performed to support a treatment, including, but not…
ARTICLE 4. Cooperative Agreements §§ 4141–4145 · 6 sections
- § 4141 (a) The department may, for the prevention and suppression of forest fires, enter into cooperative agreements with any person, firm, association, or…
- § 4142 (a) The department, with the approval of the Department of General Services, may enter into a cooperative agreement upon the terms and under the conditions as…
- § 4142.1 When a county, city, or district considers entering into a cooperative agreement pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 4142 under which the state would assume…
- § 4143 The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the maintenance of the economic well-being of the state and the public health and safety require that the state,…
- § 4144 (a) Notwithstanding Section 4142, the director may, with the approval of the Department of General Services, enter into a cooperative agreement, for the…
- § 4145 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that cooperative agreements that are entered into between the department and a local government shall provide for the…
ARTICLE 4.5. Rapid Disaster Response Act of 2005 §§ 4147–4148 · 2 sections
ARTICLE 5. Firewardens and Firefighting Personnel §§ 4151–4157 · 7 sections
- § 4151 (a) The director shall appoint, in a number and localities as the director deems wise, public-spirited citizens to act as voluntary firewardens, who may…
- § 4152 If a fire patrol for the prevention and suppression of forest fires is maintained by owners of land or by any organization, the director may designate each…
- § 4153 The department or its duly authorized agent may summon an able-bodied person to assist in suppressing a forest fire and may authorize an officer of the state,…
- § 4154 Any person who fails to obey a summons which is authorized by Section 4153 is guilty of a violation of this article.
- § 4155 Every person who in obedience to such summons assists in extinguishing any forest fire shall be compensated at the same wage rate, excluding fringe benefits,…
- § 4156 (a) The director and employees or classes of employees of the department designated by the director have the powers conferred by law upon peace officers listed…
- § 4157 When the director or any of the employees or voluntary firewardens who are designated as peace officers pursuant to Section 4156 arrests a person for a…
ARTICLE 6. Violations §§ 4165–4170.5 · 4 sections
- § 4165 Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who, at a forest fire, does any of the following: (a) Disobeys the lawful orders of a public officer or firefighter.…
- § 4166 A person who violates this article is guilty of a misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one…
- § 4170 Any uncontrolled fire burning on any lands covered wholly or in part by timber, brush, grass, grain or any other flammable material, without proper precaution…
- § 4170.5 The department or any other duly established fire protection agency may summarily abate an uncontrolled fire as a public nuisance by controlling and…
ARTICLE 7. Public Nuisances §§ 4171–4181 · 12 sections
- § 4171 Any condition endangering public safety by creating a fire hazard and which exists upon any property which is included within any state reponsibility area is a…
- § 4172 If the director determines that a public nuisance, as defined in Section 4171, exists, the director shall notify the owner of the property to abate the public…
- § 4173 The board shall establish standards, based upon its determination of conditions which create an unreasonable hazard to life or property from fire, for what…
- § 4174 The notice shall be in writing and shall do all of the following: (a) Describe the public nuisance. (b) Specify the time within which the property owner is…
- § 4175 If a property owner requests a hearing, the director shall fix a time and a place for the hearing and notify the property owner. At the time and place of the…
- § 4176 If the director determines, at the conclusion of the hearing, that a public nuisance actually exists upon property owned by the property owner, the director…
- § 4177 If the public nuisance is not abated within the time specified in the notice to the property owner pursuant to Section 4172 or, if a hearing is not requested…
- § 4178 Any costs which are incurred by the department in abating any public nuisance pursuant to this article are a lien upon the property upon which the public…
- § 4179 Notice of the lien, particularly identifying the property on which the nuisance was abated and the amount of such lien, and naming the owner of record of such…
- § 4179.5 The Attorney General may at any time release all or any portion of the property subject to a lien imposed pursuant to Sections 4178 and 4179 from the lien or…
- § 4180 An action to foreclose the lien shall be commenced by the Attorney General in the name of the people of the State of California within six months after the…
- § 4181 When the property is sold, enough of the proceeds to satisfy the lien and the costs of the foreclosure shall be paid to the state. The surplus, if any, shall…
ARTICLE 8. Clarke-McNary Act §§ 4185–4187 · 3 sections
- § 4185 The State of California hereby accepts the provisions of the Clarke-McNary Act (Ch. 348, 43 Stat. 653), as amended, passed by the Congress of the United…
- § 4186 All moneys that are received by the state pursuant to the federal Clarke-McNary Act and that are regularly allotted by the federal government according to an…
- § 4187 A county which enacts an ordinance, as provided in Section 4129, is entitled to any allocation of moneys received by the state pursuant to the Clarke-McNary…
ARTICLE 9. Fire Hazard Severity Zones §§ 4201–4204 · 4 sections
- § 4201 The purpose of this article is to provide for the classification of lands within state responsibility areas in accordance with the severity of fire hazard…
- § 4202 The State Fire Marshal shall classify lands within state responsibility areas into fire hazard severity zones. Each zone shall embrace relatively homogeneous…
- § 4203 (a) The State Fire Marshal shall, by regulation, designate fire hazard severity zones and assign to each zone a rating reflecting the degree of severity of…
- § 4204 The State Fire Marshal shall periodically review zones designated and rated pursuant to this article and, as necessary, shall revise zones or their ratings or…
ARTICLE 10. Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery § 4205 · 1 section
- § 4205 (a) (1) There is hereby created within the Office of Planning and Research the Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery, to examine issues related…
ARTICLE 11. Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program §§ 4208–4208.1 · 2 sections
- § 4208 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply: (a) “Department” means the Department of Conservation. (b) “Eligible coordinating organization”…
- § 4208.1 (a) There is hereby established in the department the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program to support regional leadership to build local and regional…
ARTICLE 12. Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation §§ 4209–4209.5 · 6 sections
- § 4209 There is within the Office of the State Fire Marshal a Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation who shall be responsible for fire…
- § 4209.1 The Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation shall be responsible for all of the following programs and activities: (a) The Fire…
- § 4209.2 The Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation and any subordinate employee shall be primarily assigned to the responsibilities…
- § 4209.3 (a) The State Fire Marshal shall, on or before January 1, 2023, provide the Legislature with a report identifying known personnel and resource shortfalls in…
- § 4209.4 (a) The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall establish the State Fire Marshal’s Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee to provide a public forum to solicit…
- § 4209.5 (a) The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall establish the Community Wildfire Mitigation Assistance Program to coordinate regional and local efforts with…