Wildfire Home Hardening Directory
Goats grazing dry grass under oak trees
  1. Home
  2. Vegetation Management

Vegetation Management in California: What It Includes, Laws & Costs (2026)

431 contractors 56 counties

Do you need a licensed contractor for this?

It depends

Mowing and grazing need no license.

Ask for a license (C‑49, C‑27) when the job includes felling trees; selling the logs also takes a CAL FIRE Licensed Timber Operator (PRC §4571).

Details and sources

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

B&P Code §7026.1 · CSLB license classifications · PRC §4571

Pick your county

  1. Los Angeles53
  2. Riverside46
  3. Nevada38
  4. Sonoma36
  5. El Dorado32
  6. Placer32
  7. Butte31
  8. Contra Costa29
  9. Marin27
San Bernardino County · 21 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 93% of US countiesInyo County · 1 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 74% of US countiesKern County · 5 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesRiverside County · 46 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesSiskiyou County · 6 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesFresno County · 1 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 91% of US countiesTulare County · 1 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesLassen County · 4 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 97% of US countiesImperial County · 2 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 37% of US countiesSan Diego County · 27 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesModoc County · 1 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 91% of US countiesLos Angeles County · 53 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesShasta County · 21 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesHumboldt County · 4 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 84% of US countiesMendocino County · 15 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesSan Luis Obispo County · 4 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesMonterey County · 6 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesTrinity County · 2 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesMono County · 1 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 92% of US countiesTehama County · 18 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesSanta Barbara County · 7 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 97% of US countiesPlumas County · 6 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesTuolumne County · 5 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesMadera County · 4 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 94% of US countiesMerced County · 0 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 88% of US countiesVentura County · 9 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 96% of US countiesEl Dorado County · 32 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesButte County · 31 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesSonoma County · 36 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 89% of US countiesStanislaus County · 1 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 92% of US countiesPlacer County · 32 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesMariposa County · 4 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesSan Joaquin County · 2 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 84% of US countiesKings County · 0 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 77% of US countiesSan Benito County · 3 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesLake County · 4 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesGlenn County · 4 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 96% of US countiesSanta Clara County · 16 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 97% of US countiesColusa County · 1 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesCalaveras County · 9 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesDel Norte County · 1 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesYolo County · 3 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 92% of US countiesSacramento County · 13 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 77% of US countiesNevada County · 38 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesSierra County · 3 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesSolano County · 3 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 87% of US countiesOrange County · 20 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesNapa County · 15 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesContra Costa County · 29 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 92% of US countiesAlameda County · 12 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 97% of US countiesAlpine County · 1 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 95% of US countiesYuba County · 4 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 99% of US countiesSutter County · 2 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 79% of US countiesAmador County · 1 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 98% of US countiesMarin County · 27 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 87% of US countiesSan Mateo County · 6 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 72% of US countiesSanta Cruz County · 13 vegetation management companies · wildfire risk to homes higher than 79% of US countiesSan Francisco County · 2 vegetation management companies · 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 — vegetation management companies listed there
All 58 counties

What the work includes

Side view of vegetation management work: on the hillside behind, a wide bare fuel break cuts through continuous dense brush next to a dense unthinned conifer stand; in front, a crew pickup and a worker trimming regrowth around old stumps, power poles with a cleared strip under the lines, a tracked masticator grinding into brush with a carpet of wood chips behind it, and thinned pines with cut stumps and a stack of logs, all beside a paved road with a cleared shoulder
  1. Fuel break construction and maintenance
  2. Woodland and forest thinning
  3. Mastication of standing brush at scale
  4. Roadside and right-of-way clearance
  5. Multi-year maintenance plans and seasonal contracts

Illustration, not to scale

What it costs

Priced
  • per project

Per-acre cost drops as acreage grows

Quarter-acre parcelLarge lots and communities
  • Annual contractCosts less
  • Sporadic catch-up clearancesCosts more
  • Grant funding is sometimes available for community-scale fuel breaks

What the law requires

  • PRC 4291 Ongoing A maintenance obligation — defensible space that grows back is a violation again Defensible space inspections
  • AB-38 At sale An active management program makes the documentation straightforward AB-38 at home sale
Vegetation management: laws and costs

Vegetation management is planned, ongoing control of fuels across a property or community — fuel breaks, thinning, mastication and maintenance schedules — rather than a one-time cleanup. It is how larger parcels, ranches and HOAs stay compliant with California defensible space law year after year.

California laws that require it

PRC 4291 is a maintenance obligation, not a one-time task — defensible space that grows back is a violation again. Vegetation management programs exist to keep large parcels continuously compliant between county inspections. For owners planning to sell in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, an active management program makes the AB-38 documentation straightforward.

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

What it costs

Work is scoped per project; per-acre cost drops as acreage grows, which is why this category suits large lots and communities better than quarter-acre parcels. Most firms offer annual contracts that cost less than sporadic catch-up clearances, and grant funding is sometimes available for community-scale fuel breaks.