CAL FIRE's first major remapping in over a decade redrew the hazard zones across the Sacramento foothills. If your designation moved up, the fire-protection math for your safe moved with it.
What changed, what each zone level means for your safe's rating and placement, and how to look up your property in about two minutes.
Start with what changed. Then what each zone means for your safe, and how to look up yours.
CAL FIRE released updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for Sacramento, Amador, and Calaveras counties in February and March 2025, the first comprehensive remapping of these designations in more than ten years. Properties across the Sacramento foothills, El Dorado Hills, the Folsom foothills, Auburn, Placerville, Grass Valley, Nevada City, and Tahoe-adjacent communities saw their designations updated, many moving to higher hazard levels.
If you live in these counties and haven't checked your FHSZ designation since early 2025, your zone may have changed. And if your zone changed, the fire-protection calculation for your safe may have changed with it.
Three zone levels, three different answers for your safe. Here's what each one means.
Each designation points to a different rating floor and placement standard for your safe.
Fire Hazard Severity Zones across Northern California, Very High (red), High (orange), and Moderate (yellow). Illustrative State Responsibility Area map; look up your property's current designation at egis.fire.ca.gov/FHSZ.
Go to https://osfm.fire.ca.gov, enter your address, and note your current designation, and whether it changed from what you remember.
Moderate: 60-minute minimum. High: 90–120 minute minimum. Very High: 120+ minute, UL 72 verified. If your current safe is below the floor for your zone, that is the gap to close before wildfire season.
Concrete foundation confirmed? Fuel cleared within 10 feet? Critical documents backed up to cloud storage you can reach from outside the home?
How the FHSZ map affects placement decisions, fire-zone placement strategy for NorCal homes.
Safe Placement StrategyCAL FIRE released updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for Sacramento, Amador, and Calaveras counties in February and March 2025, the first major remapping in over a decade. Properties across El Dorado Hills, Folsom foothills, Auburn, Placerville, Grass Valley, Nevada City, and surrounding communities received updated zone designations, many moving to higher hazard levels.
It triggers a review. If your property moved from Moderate to High, the minimum rating floor moved from approximately 60 minutes to 90-120 minutes. If your safe is already at or above the new floor with adequate placement, no change is required. If the rating gap is real, addressing it before wildfire season is the appropriate response.
Go to egis.fire.ca.gov/FHSZ and enter your property address. The map shows your current zone designation with the 2025 updates applied. This takes approximately 2 minutes and is the authoritative source for your property's current FHSZ level.
For a High FHSZ designation, the recommended minimum is 90 to 120 minutes, verified by UL 72 or ETL. Concrete foundation placement is strongly recommended alongside the rating. A 30 or 60-minute manufacturer-rated safe is below the appropriate protection level for wildfire exposure at High zone risk.
Yes. If your property in Nevada County, Placer County, Napa, Sonoma, or other NorCal counties with existing High or Very High designations has not been reviewed against the fire protection framework, the same rating and placement guidance applies to your existing designation as to newly remapped properties. The zone level determines the implication, not whether the map changed recently.
The map changes, the lookup tool, and the zone framework are CAL FIRE / OSFM sources. Sources below.
CAL FIRE / Office of the State Fire Marshal, Fire Hazard Severity Zones, 2025 LRA update (osfm.fire.ca.gov).
CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone Viewer (egis.fire.ca.gov/FHSZ).
CAL FIRE, “Remembering the Camp Fire” (fire.ca.gov).
Norcal Safe and Vault protection-design guidance and field experience; UL 72 rating standard. Dealer-reported.
Recommendations are general guidance, not a substitute for confirming your own current FHSZ designation in the official CAL FIRE viewer and discussing your property with a specialist. CAL FIRE hazard maps are about wildfire hazard; they do not by themselves set insurance rates.
This guide is part of the series: Understanding Fire Protection
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