On this page
  1. Why it matters
  2. The measures, mapped
  3. What people mix up
  4. Limits

Standards / Safer from Wildfires

California Safer from Wildfires

guidance · California Department of Insurance · Official source

California regulation (10 CCR 2644.9) requiring insurers that rate on wildfire to credit listed property and community mitigation measures.

Covers: Five surroundings measures, five structure measures, Firewise and Fire Risk Reduction Community credits.

Does not cover: Oregon insurance law. Do not paste FAIR Plan percentages onto Oregon pages.

Safer from Wildfires is a California insurance-credit rule (10 CCR 2644.9), not a building code and not IBHS. You are usually looking at a carrier credit worksheet on a California policy, not an Oregon permit.

Insurers that rate on wildfire in California must credit listed property and community mitigation measures. The consumer-facing list is ten property-level actions plus community designations such as Firewise USA. FAIR Plan stacks related credits on the wildfire portion of premium, not the whole bill. This site does not quote a percentage.

Why it matters

A California homeowner can do the construction book (CWUIC) and still miss a credit item, or chase a credit item that the building official did not ask for. Map each measure to a page on this site. Then ask the carrier which edition they are using.

The measures, mapped

Surroundings and fencing: 5-foot ember-resistant zone, including fencing. See landscaping, fence as a wick, and plants. Zone 0 is hardscape, not the on-list.

Structure: Class A roof (roofing, covering versus assembly); enclosed eaves; ember- and fire-resistant vents; multipane windows; 6-inch noncombustible wall base (siding); under-deck clearance (decking); outbuilding setback.

Community: Firewise and Fire Risk Reduction Community credits. Recognition is not a construction listing.

The full table lives on insurance measures.

What people mix up

  • Pasting FAIR Plan language onto an Oregon IBHS packet.
  • Treating a credit worksheet as a permit.
  • Planting the on-list in the five feet because a credit names “vegetation management.”

Limits

This page does not decide a premium. It does not replace CWUIC or the building official. Oregon insurance law is not this regulation.

Does this apply in Oregon?

No. Safer from Wildfires is California insurance-credit law. Oregon lots use adopted code and whatever the carrier asks for, often IBHS. Do not paste FAIR Plan percentages onto an Oregon page.

Is this a building code?

No. 10 CCR 2644.9 tells wildfire-rating insurers to credit listed mitigation. The building official still stamps construction against the adopted code, usually CWUIC in mapped California WUI.

California Safer from Wildfires. FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/standards/safer-from-wildfires/. Last verified 2026-08-23.