Overgrown Brush and Weeds in San Diego: Reporting a Fire Hazard

This guide is for the City of San Diego. San Diego Fire-Rescue says it only inspects complaints within the City of San Diego and the Port of San Diego. If the property is somewhere else, see who to call below.

In the City, weeds and brush that create a fire hazard are handled by San Diego Fire-Rescue, not by the City's code enforcement division. As of October 31, 2026, Building & Land Use Enforcement lists "landscaping" among the complaint types it does not currently enforce; see our code enforcement guide. Fire-Rescue lists these as common brush and weed concerns:

• fire hazards to structures;
• visual hazards to motor traffic, bicyclists or pedestrians;
• physical hazards to motor traffic, bicyclists or pedestrians;
• an impediment in the right-of-way;
• an impediment to drainage.

• Call 911 for a fire. A complaint is for a hazard that could burn later. Smoke or flames are an emergency.
• Talking to the owner can be faster. Fire-Rescue says it receives a high volume of weed abatement and brush complaints and cannot respond to every complainant, though all complaints will be investigated.

Fire-Rescue's Citizen Complaint Inspections page sets out the process:

• 1. Check who owns the land. Search the address on the City's property map to see whether it is City-owned or privately owned.
• 2. City-owned land. Contact the department that manages it: the Parks and Recreation Department for open space or other park land, or the Public Utilities Department at 619-515-3525. For land owned by any other City department, use the Fire-Rescue form or call 619-533-4444.
• 3. Privately owned land. Use the Submit a Brush Complaint form or call 619-533-4444. This covers a neighbor's yard or slope as well as a vacant lot.
• 4. Something else. Fire-Rescue sends City street tree requests to Get It Done, brush near power lines to SDG&E, State Responsibility Area complaints to CAL FIRE, and state highway brush to Caltrans.

Fire-Rescue's page links to its brush management definitions for what counts as "brush." It also says mulch, compost and fertilizer can be a fire hazard, and that accumulations not stored as the Municipal Code allows are treated as accumulated waste material and a fire hazard.

Municipal Code section 142.0412 requires brush management on publicly or privately owned premises that are within 100 feet of a structure and contain native or naturalized vegetation. Fire-Rescue's Guide to Defensible Space for Property Owners says clearing brush and flammable materials is required by law for homes in the City's Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.

• The Municipal Code zones. Section 142.0412 divides the fire break into Zone One, next to the structure, and Zone Two, between Zone One and the native or naturalized vegetation. Its Table 142-04H lists a Zone One width of 35 feet and a Zone Two width of 65 feet, and the two together may not exceed 100 feet, with some adjustments for existing conditions. Plants in Zone One must be mainly low-growing and under 4 feet tall, except trees. In Zone Two, 50 percent of the plants over 24 inches tall must be cut and cleared to a height of 6 inches.
• Fire-Rescue's zones. The defensible space guide describes three zones extending 100 feet from a structure: Zone 0 (0 to 5 feet), Zone 1 (5 to 30 feet) and Zone 2 (30 to 100 feet). It says Zone 0 is required for new structures in Very High Fire Severity Zones after February 28, 2026, and that existing home and property owners should aim to meet the Zone 0 guidelines under California Assembly Bill 3074 by February 2027.
• Who does the work. Section 142.0412(l) says brush management for existing structures is performed by the owner of the property that contains the native and naturalized vegetation, whether the structure being protected is on that property or on a neighbor's. Section 142.0412(k) lets the Fire Chief require brush management for any area, regardless of size, location or condition, if an imminent fire hazard exists.
• Sensitive habitats. Fire-Rescue's guide says brush clearing in coastal sage scrub, coastal sage-chaparral and maritime succulent scrub is only allowed from August 16 through January 31, unless the City grants an exception, and that properties in or next to the City's Multiple Habitat Planning Area and open space may need a biological survey first. Check the guide before clearing native vegetation.

Fire-Rescue offers a Home Risk Assessment for homeowners who want an on-site wildfire safety review; as of October 31, 2026, its Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation page lists a fee of $163.

Fire-Rescue's Annual Vacant Lot Weed Abatement Program covers privately owned vacant lots that do not meet brush management requirements. The City uses Fire Prevention Services Inc. (FPSI), a private company under contract, to run it.

• Request letter. After the winter rains, FPSI sends owners a Request for Weed Abatement Cooperation asking them to cut and remove weeds and combustible waste. The letter says an on-site inspection will be conducted within 30 days.
• Notice of Violation. If the lot violates the California Fire Code at inspection, FPSI issues a Notice of Violation as the agent of San Diego Fire-Rescue. Fire-Rescue says the owner's responsibility extends to the center of the street, including parkways, sidewalks, alleys and easements. Owners can appeal in writing to San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, Attn: Weed Abatement, 600 B Street, Suite 1300, San Diego, CA 92101.
• Abatement and costs. Fire-Rescue says a property that is not brought into compliance will be cleared by a City contractor, and the owner will incur all costs of the Administrative Abatement Procedure under Municipal Code section 54.0206. Section 54.0207 allows the costs to be assessed against the property owner and to become a lien. The Municipal Code defines weeds to include brush that grows large enough to be a fire menace when dry, and dry grass, stubble or brush that creates a fire hazard.
• A lot that was missed. Fire-Rescue says a lot may have been left out of the annual program if a change in ownership was recorded after the Notice of Violation was issued. To report one, call Brush Management/Weed Abatement at 619-533-4444.

The Parks and Recreation Department's Open Space Division says it manages 27,673 acres of open space, with 916 acres within 100 feet of structures. It thins brush on City-owned open space next to private properties with structures built before the 1989 brush management regulations, and schedules the work by priority areas that San Diego Fire-Rescue sets. Its area maps and schedule (PDF) show when an area is planned.

• Clearing it yourself. You or your contractor can thin brush on City property behind your property with a Right of Entry permit. The department says City staff schedule a site visit, the permit must be signed by you and then by the City Attorney before work starts, and the process takes five to 10 business days. A contractor working on City property needs at least $1 million in liability insurance naming the City as additional insured.
• Offering access. Because crews often have to haul cut brush long distances across steep slopes, the department invites homeowners to sign a Brush Management Access Agreement letting crews pass through their property.

Private shrubs, plants or trees that hang over a sidewalk, curb or street are not a fire complaint. Report them through Get It Done, Vegetation Encroachment, which the City describes as private property vegetation obstructing sidewalks, streets or alleys. The form says property owners are responsible for removing shrubs or plants growing over sidewalks, curbs and drains, trees and shrubs blocking traffic signs, and trees obstructing pedestrian and vehicle right-of-way. The City's Get It Done FAQ says a tree branch must be 14 feet 6 inches above a street or alley and 8 feet above a sidewalk.

The form says compliance can take several weeks, depending on the inspection, notice and citation periods used by the Transportation Department's Right of Way Code Compliance team, and as of October 31, 2026 the City's Get It Done page lists the category as operating at reduced capacity. It says vegetation on unimproved streets or open space that is an imminent fire risk can be reported to Fire-Rescue at 619-533-4444.

Trees in the public parkway are different. To report a City street tree that needs trimming, is dead or has dropped a limb, see our street trees guide.

For other problems you can report to the City, see our guide to reporting a problem to the City of San Diego. For yard waste or trash dumped on a street or vacant lot, see our illegal dumping guide.