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Cleared slope below a house: brush piles, wood chips and a mulcher at the edge of the scrub
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Brush Clearing in California: What It Includes, Laws & Costs (2026)

578 contractors 58 counties

Do you need a licensed contractor for this?

It depends

Hand clearing of brush, grass and ladder-fuel shrubs needs no license.

Ask for a license (C‑49, C‑27) when the job includes removing trees, pruning trees 15 ft or taller, stump grinding, or grading with a dozer/tractor (A, C‑12, C‑27).

Details and sources

This is a hint for when to ask, not legal advice.

B&P Code §7026.1 · CSLB license classifications

Pick your county

  1. Los Angeles76
  2. Nevada74
  3. Sonoma49
  4. El Dorado44
  5. Placer44
  6. Butte37
  7. San Diego37
  8. Marin33
  9. Riverside28
San Bernardino County · 10 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 93% of US countiesInyo County · 1 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 74% of US countiesKern County · 9 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesRiverside County · 28 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesSiskiyou County · 5 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesFresno County · 3 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 91% of US countiesTulare County · 4 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesLassen County · 4 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 97% of US countiesImperial County · 4 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 37% of US countiesSan Diego County · 37 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesModoc County · 3 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 91% of US countiesLos Angeles County · 76 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesShasta County · 22 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesHumboldt County · 12 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 84% of US countiesMendocino County · 17 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesSan Luis Obispo County · 10 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesMonterey County · 11 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesTrinity County · 4 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesMono County · 2 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 92% of US countiesTehama County · 9 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesSanta Barbara County · 16 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 97% of US countiesPlumas County · 7 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesTuolumne County · 14 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesMadera County · 4 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 94% of US countiesMerced County · 4 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 88% of US countiesVentura County · 16 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 96% of US countiesEl Dorado County · 44 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesButte County · 37 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesSonoma County · 49 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 89% of US countiesStanislaus County · 5 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 92% of US countiesPlacer County · 44 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesMariposa County · 3 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesSan Joaquin County · 4 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 84% of US countiesKings County · 1 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 77% of US countiesSan Benito County · 2 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesLake County · 7 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesGlenn County · 6 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 96% of US countiesSanta Clara County · 17 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 97% of US countiesColusa County · 2 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesCalaveras County · 17 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesDel Norte County · 1 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesYolo County · 4 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 92% of US countiesSacramento County · 16 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 77% of US countiesNevada County · 74 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesSierra County · 5 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesSolano County · 4 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 87% of US countiesOrange County · 14 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesNapa County · 19 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesContra Costa County · 23 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 92% of US countiesAlameda County · 17 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 97% of US countiesAlpine County · 3 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesYuba County · 5 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesSutter County · 3 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 79% of US countiesAmador County · 15 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesMarin County · 33 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 87% of US countiesSan Mateo County · 9 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 72% of US countiesSanta Cruz County · 18 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 79% of US countiesSan Francisco County · 2 brush clearing services · wildfire risk to homes higher than 54% of US counties
Wildfire risk to homesvs. other CA counties · USDA Forest Service
  1. Lower
  3. Moderate
  5. Highest
Number on a county — brush clearing services listed there
All 58 counties

What the work includes

Brush clearing crew at work: a worker with a brush cutter, a tracked masticator mulching chaparral, a hand crew cutting on a steep slope, a chipper feeding a chip truck on the access road, and a cleared fuel break along the ridge
  1. Cutting and removing brush, chaparral and scrub
  2. Mastication of heavy fuels with tracked machinery
  3. Hand-crew work on slopes and terrain machines cannot reach
  4. Chipping on site or hauling debris away
  5. Clearing access roads and fuel breaks

Illustration, not to scale

What it costs

Priced
  • per acre
  • per crew-day

What moves the price

  • Slope
  • Access
  • Fuel density
  • Mowing light scrub on flat groundFar less
  • Masticating mature chaparral on a hillsideFar more
  • Disposal — chipping or hauling — is often quoted separately

What the law requires

  • PRC 4291 100 ft Overgrown brush is usually the violation an inspector writes up Defensible space inspections
  • County ordinance Fine or force-clear Hazard-abatement ordinances layered on top for non-compliant lots
  • AB-38 At sale Documentation that the work is done, in High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones AB-38 at home sale
Brush clearing: laws and costs

Brush clearing is the removal of overgrown chaparral, scrub and understory fuels — the heavy-labor part of wildfire preparedness. For most rural California properties it is how the 100-foot clearance required by PRC 4291 actually gets done.

California laws that require it

Brush clearing is the enforcement surface of PRC 4291 — when a fire inspector writes up a parcel, overgrown brush is usually the violation. Counties layer their own hazard-abatement ordinances on top, with the power to fine or force-clear non-compliant lots. If you are selling a home in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, AB-38 requires documentation that this work is done.

Related guides: AB-38 at home sale · Defensible space inspections · Zone 0 · Wildfire Prepared Home · 2026 wildfire laws

What it costs

Crews price per acre or per crew-day. Slope, access and fuel density move the price more than raw acreage: mowing light scrub on flat ground costs far less than masticating mature chaparral on a hillside. Disposal (chipping vs. hauling) is often quoted separately.