A city audit has put San Diego's brush enforcement program on the hot seat, finding a tangle of gaps in how the city polices fire-prone vegetation on private property. Inspectors are hitting only a fraction of high-risk parcels, records are spotty, and many properties flagged as risky can sit for years without anyone circling back. Auditors warn that a roughly decade-long inspection cycle, lean staffing and a move toward quick curbside drive-bys are leaving neighborhoods exposed just as stricter defensible-space rules are coming online.
Audit Finds Inspections Sparse and Inconsistent
According to the audit, the city is inspecting about 45,000 of the roughly 220,000 parcels in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, meaning most high-risk properties are not receiving routine on-site checks. Properties are effectively seen about once every eight to ten years. The report also notes that early in 2025, the Fire-Rescue Department pivoted to conducting many inspections from public rights-of-way rather than walking properties, a shortcut auditors found was about 30 times less likely to spot violations than prior on-site inspections, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Reinspections, Fees and Staffing Shortfalls
The Office of the City Auditor's review of inspections from August 2020 through April 2025 found that follow-up has been hit-or-miss. Of 910 proactive inspections in which violations were flagged, 747 cases (82%) had a documented reinspection. But when inspectors responded to complaints, violations were rechecked only 46 percent of the time. Auditors also found that Fire-Rescue did not assess any penalties or reinspection fees between August 2020 and June 2025, even though the city's current reinspection fee is set at $50. The audit pegs the brush-management budget at about $700,000 per year, with seven staff members assigned to private-property enforcement, per the Office of the City Auditor.
Officials Promise Fixes but Warn of Limits
Fire-Rescue Chief Robert Logan told auditors he agrees with the accuracy of essentially all the audit findings, and the city has signed on to implement all 14 recommendations in the 48-page report. At the same time, Logan cautioned that some of the proposed fixes will require additional funding to implement. He also pointed to a newer tool in the department's kit: voluntary home-risk assessments that began this year to help owners harden their properties against wildfire, a measure highlighted in the audit and news coverage as part of the department's response, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
What It Means for Homeowners
The timing of the audit is not exactly comforting for homeowners. San Diego recently adopted a five-foot "Zone Zero" defensible-space requirement late last year, and new construction has been subject to that standard since February. Owner-occupied existing homes are slated to meet the rule by February 2027, according to local reporting. Those deadlines - and the sheer number of properties that will have to comply - make the audit's findings about staffing, data quality and enforcement all the more urgent, according to the Times of San Diego.
Next Steps and What to Watch
Auditors are pushing the city to tighten how inspections are documented, increase the rate of reinspections and beef up community outreach. City officials have agreed to adopt all 14 recommendations but say the department still lacks a full-time outreach position dedicated to this work. Residents may want to watch whether City Hall provides more funding for Fire-Rescue or gives the department stronger enforcement tools, such as higher reinspection fees, changes auditors say will be needed if San Diego expects to reliably enforce Zone Zero and other defensible-space rules, per the Office of the City Auditor.
