Assessment · Cal Wildfire Defense
Property Fire Risk Walk
From $299
Know exactly where your property stands — before fire season does.
The Property Fire Risk Walk is a structured, in-person evaluation of your property conducted by a fire-informed CWD team member. Walk every zone. Understand every gap. Leave with a clear picture of your risk and a plan to address it.
What it is
A walk, not an inspection.
There are two ways to find out where your property stands on wildfire risk. One is to wait for a CAL FIRE inspector to show up and tell you. The other is to walk your property with someone who understands fire behavior and can show you — in real time, at every fuel load and every fence line and every vent opening — exactly what your property looks like to an advancing fire.
That’s what the Property Fire Risk Walk is. A CWD team member walks the full property with you. Not a clipboard-and-checklist exercise — a real conversation about what we’re seeing and why it matters. You’ll leave knowing your property’s actual risk, what’s driving it, and what needs to happen.
CWD is not a government agency. We do not conduct official compliance inspections.
What we provide is a professional, fire-informed evaluation grounded in NWCG wildland fire behavior science and California defensible space standards. That’s a different thing — and in many ways, a more useful one. A CAL FIRE inspection tells you what you failed. A Risk Walk tells you why, and what to do about it.
Who it’s for
The right starting point for most customers.
The Property Fire Risk Walk is the right first step if any of the following are true:
- Your insurance carrier is asking questions about your property’s defensible space compliance — or threatening to drop your coverage.
- You’ve received a notice from CAL FIRE and you’re not sure what it means or where to start.
- You live in a fire-prone area of San Diego County and want an honest professional assessment of where you stand — not a generic pamphlet.
- You’re thinking about having vegetation management work done and want to understand what’s actually needed before you spend money.
- You’ve done some clearing work yourself and want to know whether it’s enough — and whether it was done in the right places.
- You’re a new property owner in a high fire hazard severity zone and want to start from a clear understanding of your risk.
The walk is also the foundation for every other CWD service. If you go on to get a Defensible Space Plan, hire CWD for mitigation, or enroll in the Fire Season Maintenance Program — it all builds from what we learn on the walk.
What happens
What the walk actually looks like.
We start at the structure — not because it’s the most dramatic place, but because it’s the most important. Zone 0, the five feet immediately surrounding your home, is where the majority of homes lost in wildfires actually ignite. Not from a wall of flame cresting the ridge — from embers landing in the debris accumulated around a vent or under a deck. We look at everything in this zone carefully: ground surface materials, what’s on and under the deck, fence connections to the structure, gutter condition. We’re looking for every place an ember can land and find something to ignite.
From there we move outward through Zone 1 — the 50-foot clearance zone that San Diego County requires, and the zone where most of the physical mitigation work happens. We’re evaluating grass height, plant spacing, ladder fuels that could carry a surface fire into the tree canopy, lower limb clearance on trees. We’re also looking at fuel types — a chaparral-covered slope behind your property burns very differently than an annual grassland, and the work required to defend against it is different too.
Zone 2 extends from 50 to 100 feet. Here we’re looking at fuel spacing, dead material accumulation, and how fire would move through this zone on its way to the structure. We’re also thinking about fire approach direction — where fire is most likely to come from given your terrain, your aspect, and the wind patterns common to your area. That context shapes everything about how we evaluate the property and what we prioritize.
Throughout the walk, we’re talking with you. You’ll hear what we’re seeing and why it matters. By the time we wrap up, you’ll understand your property’s fire risk in a way that goes well beyond anything a pamphlet or checklist can give you. And you’ll know exactly what needs to happen next.
What you get
Three things you leave with.
Every Property Fire Risk Walk produces three deliverables. They’re designed to work together — the map anchors the summary, the summary informs the estimate, and all three give you everything you need to take the next step.
The Walk Summary
A written plain-language document covering what we found, what it means, and what needs to happen — organized around a prioritized action list broken into immediate, near-term, and longer-term items. This is not a technical report. It’s a clear, useful document you can act on, share with your insurance carrier, or use to brief a contractor. Produced within 24 hours of the walk.
The Zone Map
An annotated map of your property showing the lot perimeter, your primary structure, Zone 0, 1, and 2 boundaries, the fire approach direction specific to your terrain, and any flagged risk areas. Accurate enough to guide clearing work, anchor a planning conversation, and give you a visual record of your property’s condition at the time of the walk.
The Scope & Estimate
A summary of what CWD can do for your property — mitigation work scoped and estimated from what we saw on the walk, any planning services that would add value and why, and whether the Fire Season Maintenance Program is a fit. Presented at the end of the walk or delivered within 48 hours. There is no pressure to book anything else.
Insurance & regulatory use
What the walk summary does for you with insurance and CAL FIRE.
The Walk Summary is not a compliance document — it is a professional evaluation. But it’s a useful one to have in your hands when you’re dealing with insurance pressure or a CAL FIRE notice.
If your carrier is asking about your property’s defensible space status, the Walk Summary gives you an honest, documented starting point — what the current condition is, what the gaps are, and what work is underway or planned. That’s a more credible conversation than no documentation at all.
If you’ve received a CAL FIRE notice, the Walk Summary helps you understand what you’re actually being asked to do and whether what you’ve already done — or plan to do — addresses it. For customers who need formal compliance documentation, the Walk Summary is the natural precursor to a Defensible Space Plan, which produces the written plan and regulatory compliance record that CAL FIRE and insurers look for.
The Walk Summary is a professional evaluation, not a compliance certification.
If your situation requires formal documentation — for insurance negotiation, a real estate transaction, or a CAL FIRE response — a Defensible Space Plan is the right next step.
What comes next
The walk is a beginning, not an end.
Most customers who complete a Property Fire Risk Walk take one of two paths forward. Neither is required — the walk is a complete, standalone service. But here’s how the rest of CWD’s services connect from here:
Ready to walk your property?
Call CWD to schedule your Property Fire Risk Walk. We’ll tell you where your property stands, what it needs, and what we can do — with no pressure to book anything else.
Call CWD to Schedule → 619-949-3814 Not ready to call? Reach us by email or through our contact page → Want to understand the terminology before your walk? Visit our Wildfire Education site →