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Living With Fire

FIRE SAFE San Mateo County publishes Living With Fire in San Mateo County, a magazine-style guide to wildfire preparedness written for local residents: defensible space, home hardening, evacuation planning, and the county's fire environment.

Cover of the Living With Fire in San Mateo County guide, showing a wildland firefighter watching a smoke column over the Santa Cruz Mountains

Download Living With Fire in San Mateo County (PDF)

A note on currency: this edition was published in 2016, before the CZU Lightning Complex and before California added Zone 0 (the 0–5 foot ember-resistant zone) to defensible space law. The core guidance on preparedness and evacuation remains sound. For current defensible space zones, see our defensible space page; for current hardening priorities, see Hardening Your Home.