Home › Fences & Gates
Where a local Zone 0 rule is in force, combustible fencing in the first five feet is part of it. Statewide Zone 0 is Proposed — not in force. Here's what that means for Montecito's gates, board fences, and estate frontages.
Why fences first
Ember research is unambiguous about the mechanism: a burning fence attached to a wall delivers flame directly to the structure, and in wind-driven fires embers find that fuel long before the front arrives. On a Montecito parcel the exposure multiplies with the buildings: the main residence, the guest house, the cabana, and the garage each count, and a wood gate or fence section touching any of them is inside the rule.
The common retrofit is smaller than people fear, and often invisible to the eye that matters. Replace the final 5 feet where fencing meets each structure with a noncombustible panel or metal gate, and the rest of the run stays. Wrought iron and masonry, already at home on these frontages, comply outright. Costs vary by material and run; The follow-up tells you how many linear feet at how many structures are actually in the zone before anyone talks price.
Beyond the fence
Gates get the same treatment as fencing where they sit in the ember-resistant zone: noncombustible materials in the first 5 feet. A metal pedestrian gate at the house corner is often the single cheapest compliance win on the property. Statewide fencing guidance lives at zonezerofences.com; this page covers how it lands in Montecito.
Questions
Usually no. The requirement targets the portion attached to or within 5 feet of the structure. On estate lots the common fix is replacing the final run and gates at each structure with noncombustible sections, and keeping the rest, including perimeter fencing well away from buildings.
Noncombustible materials: steel, aluminum, masonry, and certain rated composites. Wrought iron and masonry, already the vernacular of many Montecito frontages, comply naturally. A wood gate at the house corner or a board fence tying into the garage is Required now when the work is part of a new building or addition under Development Standard #2; for existing homes that retrofit is Recommended now.
Hired fence work at $1,000 or more in labor and materials, work that needs a permit, or work that uses hired workers typically requires a CSLB license (Class C-13 for fencing). Owner-builder and minor-work exemptions can apply.
Submit your address and we will follow up about which local rules apply to your parcel, what your fire authority will look for, and what an inspection would document.
Request an inspectionPrefer to talk? Call (213) 279-1797 Calls are answered by an automated AI assistant and may be recorded and transcribed.