Class A Roofing in the Hillside Fire Zones
South of Ventura Boulevard and above Glenoaks the roof has to be Class A, and the details at the eaves and vents matter as much as the covering. Here is the rule, what qualifies, and how to find out whether your parcel is in the zone.
Within the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, the City of Los Angeles requires a Class A roof covering on every re-roof; LADBS prints the condition on the express re-roof permit, and the Los Angeles Building Code requires every building's roof covering to be fire-retardant. Class A is the highest fire-resistance rating under the ASTM E108 / UL 790 tests.
The Valley's fire zones are the hills: south of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino, Tarzana and Woodland Hills, and the Verdugo Mountains above Glenoaks in Burbank. Boundaries are parcel-specific, so we check every address on ZIMAS or with the City of Burbank before quoting; CAL FIRE issued new recommended maps in March 2025 that the cities are adopting.
The houses that burn in a Southern California wind-driven fire mostly ignite from embers landing on the roof, in a vent, or in debris at the eave, not from a wall of flame. That is why the roof is the first thing the fire code looks at, and why the hillside neighborhoods of the Valley sit inside a zone where the roof covering is not a choice.
Where the zone is
The Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) is mapped by CAL FIRE and adopted by each city. In the Valley it covers the Santa Monica Mountains foothills south of Ventura Boulevard: the Sherman Oaks hills, Fryman and Laurel Canyon in Studio City, the Encino Hills, the Braemar and Mulholland hills in Tarzana, and the Woodland Hills slopes toward Mulholland. In Burbank it covers the Verdugo Mountains above Glenoaks Boulevard, under the Burbank Fire Department's map. The Valley floor, Van Nuys, Valley Glen, Valley Village, North Hollywood and Toluca Lake, is outside it.
Boundaries follow parcel lines, not neighborhoods, so a street can have houses on both sides of the line. In the City of Los Angeles, the ZIMAS parcel lookup shows the fire-zone layer for any address; in Burbank, Building & Safety and the Fire Department confirm it. We check before every quote. CAL FIRE released new recommended maps for Los Angeles County's local responsibility areas on 24 March 2025, with more parcels in the high and very high zones; state law requires the cities to adopt them by ordinance, and the LAFD has said it is aligning the state map to City streets and parcels. Until the City's updated map is final, the current adopted zone applies, and a parcel near the edge should assume it will be inside.
The rule
LADBS Information Bulletin P/GI 2026-003 lists re-roofing as an express permit and prints the condition on it: Class A roof covering is required within the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Section 1505 of the Los Angeles Building Code requires the roof covering of every building to be fire-retardant, and the Los Angeles Wildland-Urban Interface Code adds requirements for decks, trellises and other exterior construction in the zone. The state's Wildland-Urban Interface Code likewise requires roof assemblies in fire hazard zones to meet a Class A fire classification.
What Class A means
Roof coverings are tested under ASTM E108 and UL 790 for how they perform against flame spread, burning brands and intermittent flame. Class A is the highest rating: the assembly resists severe fire exposure. Some products earn Class A on their own (most concrete and clay tile, most metal panels); others earn it as an assembly, the covering plus a specified underlayment or cap sheet. Nearly every architectural asphalt shingle sold in California reaches Class A over a Class A-rated underlayment. Wood shake and shingle, once the Valley default, do not qualify and cannot be reinstalled in the zone.
Assemblies we install in the zone
- Architectural shingle, Class A assembly: the shingle plus a Class A underlayment package, with metal drip edge and closed eaves.
- Concrete or clay tile: Class A on its own, installed with bird stops and eave closures so embers cannot lodge under the first course.
- Standing seam metal: non-combustible panels over a Class A underlayment, the cleanest answer on a modern hillside house.
- Low-slope sections: Class A-rated modified bitumen or TPO assemblies with mineral or reflective cap sheets.
The details that matter as much as the covering
- Vents: ember-resistant attic and eave vents, so the roof does not breathe sparks into the attic.
- Eaves and soffits: enclosed or protected, with no open gaps at the first course of tile.
- Gutters: metal, kept clear, with leaf guards where trees overhang; a gutter full of dry leaves is kindling against the fascia.
- Skylights and penetrations: tempered or multi-pane glazing, metal flashing, no plastic domes.
- Debris: the roof and valleys cleared before fire season, which in the Valley is also before Santa Ana season.
Cost and insurance
A Class A shingle assembly costs little more than a standard one, because the shingle lines we use already qualify and the underlayment package is a modest upgrade. Tile and metal are Class A by nature. The larger financial point is insurance: carriers in the fire zones increasingly ask about the roof class, vents and defensible space, and a documented Class A roof with a closed permit is part of staying insurable on a hillside parcel.
Sources
- LADBS Information Bulletin P/GI 2026-003, Express Permits (No Plan Check Required), effective 01-01-2026, revised 06-10-2026
- City of Los Angeles ZIMAS parcel lookup (fire-zone, hillside and zoning layers)
- Los Angeles Fire Department, 2025 CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone map recommendation
- CAL FIRE, 2025 Local Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps (released March 24, 2025)
Questions We
Hear About This
In the City of Los Angeles, look up the address on ZIMAS and check the fire-zone layer; in Burbank, ask Building & Safety or the Fire Department. We check every parcel before quoting. CAL FIRE's 2025 recommended maps add parcels, so a house near the edge of the current zone should assume it will be inside.
Yes, as a Class A assembly: nearly every architectural shingle sold in California reaches Class A over a Class A underlayment. Wood shake and shingle cannot be reinstalled in the zone.
Most concrete and clay tile is Class A on its own, but the installation matters: bird stops and eave closures keep embers from lodging under the first course, and the underlayment beneath should also be rated.
Little more for shingle, because the qualifying shingle lines are the ones we use anyway and the underlayment package is a modest upgrade. Tile and metal are Class A by nature.
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