Free wildfire and land services in California
shaded = has a page · click a county to open it
County boundaries from the US Census Bureau. An unshaded county means this directory has no page for it yet, which is a fact about this directory and not about that county.
Choose your county
- Alameda County1
- Alpine County2
- Amador County4
- Butte County3
- Calaveras County1
- Colusa County
- Contra Costa County1
- Del Norte County1
- El Dorado County8
- Fresno County1
- Glenn County1
- Humboldt County1
- Imperial County1
- Inyo County1
- Kern County1
- Kings County1
- Lake County1
- Lassen County3
- Los Angeles County2
- Madera County1
- Marin County2
- Mariposa County3
- Mendocino County1
- Merced County2
- Modoc County1
- Mono County1
- Monterey County1
- Napa County2
- Nevada County5
- Orange County1
- Placer County3
- Plumas County7
- Riverside County1
- Sacramento County1
- San Benito County1
- San Bernardino County2
- San Diego County1
- San Joaquin County1
- San Luis Obispo County1
- San Mateo County1
- Santa Barbara County1
- Santa Clara County1
- Santa Cruz County2
- Shasta County3
- Sierra County1
- Siskiyou County1
- Solano County1
- Sonoma County1
- Stanislaus County1
- Sutter County1
- Tehama County1
- Trinity County2
- Tulare County1
- Tuolumne County1
- Ventura County1
- Yolo County1
- Yuba County1
Across all of California
Statewide programs available in every county
- CAL FIRE Defensible Space InspectionFreefrom CAL FIRE
- CalHFA ADU GrantFreefrom California Housing Finance Agency
- California Forest Improvement ProgramReimbursementfrom CAL FIRE
- Check a LicenseFreefrom Contractors State License Board
- Conservation Stewardship Programfrom USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Disaster Property Tax ReliefFreefrom California State Board of Equalization
- Emergency Watershed ProtectionFreefrom USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Environmental Quality Incentives Programfrom USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
- FAIR Plan Wildfire Hardening DiscountsFreefrom California FAIR Plan
- FEMA Individual AssistanceFreefrom Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Fire Weather Forecasts and Red Flag WarningsFreefrom National Weather Service
- Forest Service Landowner AssistanceFreefrom USDA Forest Service
- Forestry Assistance SpecialistsFreefrom CAL FIRE
- LIHEAP Energy Assistance and WeatherizationFreefrom California Department of Community Services and Development
- Partners for Fish and WildlifeFreefrom US Fish and Wildlife Service
- Property Tax Relief for LandownersFreefrom California State Board of Equalization
- Roadmap to RecoveryFreefrom United Policyholders
- Safer from Wildfires Insurance DiscountsFreefrom California Department of Insurance
- SGIP Battery Storage IncentivesFreefrom California Public Utilities Commission
- USDA Section 502 Direct Home LoanFreefrom USDA Rural Development
- USDA Section 504 Home Repair Loans and GrantsFreefrom USDA Rural Development
- USGS Topographic MapsFreefrom US Geological Survey
- Web Soil SurveyFreefrom USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Building on rural land in California
What applies across California, each line with the source it was read from. Where a county's own permit office has been confirmed, it is on that county's page.
- Building code
California has adopted the 2025 California Residential Code, Part 2.5 of Title 24, published July 1, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026.
- Wildfire construction standard
New buildings in designated fire hazard severity zones are built to the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, Part 7 of Title 24, which took effect January 1, 2026 and absorbed the construction standards previously in Chapter 7A of the building code and Section R337 of the residential code.
- Who issues the permit
Health and Safety Code section 17960 puts enforcement of the State Building Standards Code on the building department of every city or county, so a dwelling on unincorporated land is permitted by the county building department.
- Building it yourself
An owner who builds on their own property is exempt from the Contractors State License Law under Business and Professions Code section 7044, provided none of the improvements are intended or offered for sale and the owner or the owner's wage employees do the work.
Source · California Business and Professions Code section 7044
