Home › Highland
What the ember-resistant zone rules mean for this city, under the actual designation and the actual fire authority.
The local snapshot
Highland sits directly under the mountains' southern face, its foothill neighborhoods running up against the San Bernardino National Forest boundary, with fire protection provided by CAL FIRE under contract. The city's Very High designations track that northern edge. Zone Zero (Zone 0) applies within the mapped zones, and Highland's claim to the county's fire story is unwanted and direct: the 2024 Line Fire started here.
The local record
On September 5, 2024, the Line Fire ignited in the foothills at Highland's northern edge, near the Baseline corridor, and investigators determined it was arson. It grew to 43,978 acres, threatened more than 36,000 structures, forced the full evacuation of Running Springs and Arrowbear in the mountains above, and put parts of Highland itself, along with Forest Falls, Mountain Home Village, and Angelus Oaks, under evacuation orders. For Highland homeowners the fire's meaning is close to home in the most literal sense: the fuel that carried it started at the city's own wildland boundary, and the parcels along that boundary are exactly where Zone 0's ember-resistant first five feet will be enforced. Ignition was a criminal act nobody could have prevented at home. What the fire found on each parcel was, and remains, the homeowner's call.
Who enforces it
Highland's fire services are provided by CAL FIRE under contract, operating as the Highland Fire Department. CAL FIRE under contract is the AHJ. Statewide Zone 0 is Proposed — not in force. Existing defensible-space law still applies. Deadlines pages carry local status labels, not a 2027 to 2028 statewide clock; your jurisdiction sets the specifics, and this page names yours. For the requirements themselves, start with the regulations guide, fences and gates, and landscaping.
Questions
The city's northern foothill neighborhoods, where streets meet the national forest boundary, carry Very High designations. Check your specific parcel; the flatter southern city largely sits outside the zones.
CAL FIRE, which provides the city's fire services under contract as the Highland Fire Department.
It ignited at the city's northern edge in September 2024 and was determined to be arson. It burned 43,978 acres, threatened more than 36,000 structures, and put parts of Highland under evacuation orders while mountain communities above evacuated entirely.
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.