PNW Fire Hardening

Oregon defensible space requirements

This page describes Oregon rules and official recommendations as of November 2026. It is not legal, insurance, or building-code advice. Local ordinances change, and only your city, county, or fire authority can tell you what is required on your property.

If you are trying to understand what Oregon requires for defensible space around a home, the honest short answer in November 2026 is this: there is no statewide mandatory defensible-space code. The state still publishes recommended practices, offers free assessments, and maintains a model code that cities and counties may adopt. Whether you have to comply with a written standard depends on local rules, not on a statewide map.

What changed, and why older pages may be out of date

Senate Bill 762, passed in 2021, directed Oregon to create a statewide wildfire risk map and to set related defensible-space and home-hardening requirements. In 2025, Senate Bill 83 repealed that statewide wildfire hazard map (former ORS 477.490) and the associated state-level regulatory requirements. The Governor’s Wildfire Programs Advisory Council describes the same change: the map and those requirements were replaced with statewide model codes that local governments may consider for adoption.

SB 83 also provided that an Oregon Department of Forestry order under the former mapping statute that assigned property to a wildfire hazard zone is null and void. If you still have a letter, insurance question, or real-estate disclosure that refers to a state hazard-zone assignment from that map, treat that assignment as no longer in force and confirm current rules locally — and, for insurance, with your insurer. Informational risk tools from universities or agencies may still exist for planning; they are not the repealed regulatory map, and they do not by themselves create a statewide defensible-space obligation.

Who must comply in November 2026

Under the amended ORS 476.392, the State Fire Marshal creates and makes available a model defensible-space code, and may not require a local government to adopt it. A local city, county, or other local governmental subdivision may adopt that model code — or may already have its own older local standards. If it adopts the model code, it is responsible for enforcement and maintenance, and it must notify the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) before adoption, as described in permanent administrative order OSFM 2-2026 (OAR 837-040-0030) and on OSFM’s defensible space page.

As of November 2026, we have not found a complete official public list of every jurisdiction that has adopted the 2026 model code. Some communities were publicly considering it earlier in 2026. Some already had their own development-code standards. Ask your city or county, your local building department, and your fire district what, if anything, is in force at your address, and whether it applies to existing homes, new construction, or both.

Even where no local code applies, OSFM, Oregon State University Extension, and other official sources still recommend creating and maintaining defensible space. Those recommendations are voluntary best practices unless a local rule makes them mandatory.

The 2026 Oregon Defensible Space Model Code

OSFM 2-2026 took effect on April 29, 2026. The rule states that the 2026 Oregon Defensible Space Model Code is adopted effective February 26, 2026. The model code is based on sections 603 and 604 of the 2024 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (the parts that address defensible space), together with best practices specific to Oregon, as amended by OSFM. The model code is generally updated every three years, on a cycle similar to other fire and building codes.

A local government that adopts the model code does so through its own local legal process. It may be able to tailor how and where the code applies, within the framework of the statute and the model code. OSFM maintains the model; it does not, under current law, impose it statewide. If you want to read the model itself, start at OSFM’s defensible space page and with your local government clerk or fire marshal, who should have the version they adopted.

Recommended zones: 0–5 feet, 5–30 feet, and 30–100 feet

OSFM’s public guidance organizes work around the home and three distance zones, measured out from the structure. The wording below follows OSFM’s current defensible space page and its Defensible Space Homeowner Guide. Other programs, including the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home standard, use similar distances but are sometimes stricter — especially in the first five feet. See our home-hardening checklist for that version, and do not assume the two lists are identical.

The home itself

OSFM’s home-hardening tips on the same page include removing leaves, needles, and debris from the roof and gutters; considering noncombustible (metal) gutter covers; replacing missing or loose shingles; covering attic and crawlspace vents with 1/8-inch metal wire mesh; using more fire-resistant siding or skirting when you can; and using metal for fence sections or gates within five feet of the house. These are recommendations on the OSFM page, not a statewide construction code.

Immediate zone: 0–5 feet

OSFM calls this the immediate zone, or the five-foot buffer. Its published recommendations include using river rock, gravel, or pavers within five feet of the structure; removing bark mulch and flammable plants (OSFM’s page names junipers as an example); and clearing debris from below decks and patios. The homeowner guide also recommends removing flammable vegetation from directly under the eaves, with a minimum of five feet from the structure recommended, and keeping fire-resistant plants, if used, at least five feet away and spaced so they do not touch.

This first five feet is the area most often called “Zone 0” in national guidance. It is the highest-priority band because embers can ignite mulch, furniture, fences, and plants right against the house.

Intermediate zone: 5–30 feet

OSFM describes this as a “lean, clean, and green” zone: keep grass mowed to less than four inches, space tree crowns at least ten feet apart, and prune trees up six feet from the ground. The homeowner guide adds detail for shorter trees: limb up six feet on trees taller than 18 feet, or up to one-third of the tree’s height on trees shorter than 18 feet. It also recommends keeping firewood piles and lumber at least 30 feet from any structure, or enclosing the pile in a shed or building, and keeping combustible vegetation ten feet away from permanent propane tanks.

Extended zone: 30–100+ feet

OSFM’s extended-zone recommendations include removing ladder fuels (brush under trees), maintaining that ten-foot clearance around propane tanks, and disposing of heavy ground litter and deadwood. The homeowner guide discusses ten-foot crown spacing and ten-foot spacing from buildings and power lines in the first 100 feet. On steep slopes, official and Extension guides often recommend a wider treated area downhill; OSU Extension’s EM 9184 discusses defensible space of 100 feet or more and the need for regular maintenance as vegetation grows back.

OSFM also lists emergency-access recommendations, including driveway clearance of 13 feet 6 inches vertically and 20 feet horizontally for fire engines, and reflective address signs. Your fire district may have its own access standards.

Home hardening is a separate, also-local code

Defensible space is about the area around the building. Home hardening is about the building itself — roof, vents, eaves, siding, windows, and decks. Oregon’s construction standards for that work live in section R327 (Wildfire Hazard Mitigation) of the Oregon Residential Specialty Code. After SB 83, R327 is available for local adoption and, in the state’s current framing, applies to new construction of new buildings when a local municipality that operates a building department adopts it. The state may not require a local government to adopt it. See the Oregon Building Codes Division page on home hardening and wildfire hazard mitigation.

As of the BCD page we reviewed in November 2026, the municipalities listed as having adopted R327 were Ashland, Bend, Deschutes County, Grants Pass, Redmond (effective April 1, 2027), and Sisters. That list can change, and effective dates are local. Deschutes County states that its provisions are mandatory for new dwellings and new accessory structures beginning April 1, 2026, and that Sisters has also approved adoption. The City of Bend has said its requirements took effect May 15, 2026, for new residential permit applications submitted on or after that date, and that they do not apply to additions or renovations of existing buildings. Always confirm with the local building department, including if you are replacing a roof, siding, or a deck on an existing home.

BCD also notes that homeowners anywhere in Oregon may follow the R327 measures voluntarily, including when replacing exterior elements.

Free help, and finding a contractor

OSFM and fire-service partners offer free defensible-space assessments — education-focused visits with recommendations, not a code inspection unless your local government has made them one. Start at OSFM’s defensible space page, or email [email protected]. Oregon Living with Fire is another statewide starting point for community resources.

If you plan to hire help, browse Oregon contractors in this directory or search listings. This site defaults to contractors whose licenses we could verify as Active. Read how to choose and vet a contractor, and check grants and cost-share programs before you sign a contract, because some programs require pre-approval.

Related guides

Sources