Cal. Codes » Health and Safety Code / DIVISION 12. FIRES AND FIRE PROTECTION / PART 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS / CHAPTER 1. Liability in Relation to Fires
California Codes

Cal. Health and Safety Code § 13009 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a)Any person (1) who negligently, or in violation of the law, sets a fire, allows a fire to be set, or allows a fire kindled or attended by the person to escape onto any public or private property, (2) other than a mortgagee, who, being in actual possession of a structure, fails or refuses to correct, within the time allotted for correction, despite having the right to do so, a fire hazard prohibited by law, for which a public agency properly has issued a notice of violation respecting the hazard, or (3) including a mortgagee, who, having an obligation under other provisions of law to correct a fire hazard prohibited by law, for which a public agency has properly issued a notice of violation respecting the hazard, fails or refuses to correct the hazard within the time allotted for correction, despite having the right to do so, is liable for the fire suppression costs incurred in fighting the fire and for the cost of providing rescue or emergency medical services, and those costs shall be a charge against that person. The charge shall constitute a debt of that person, and is collectible by the person, or by the federal, state, county, public, or private agency, incurring those costs in the same manner as in the case of an obligation under a contract, expressed or implied.

(b)Public agencies participating in fire suppression, rescue, or emergency medical services as set forth in subdivision (a), may designate one or more of the participating agencies to bring an action to recover costs incurred by all of the participating agencies. An agency designated by the other participating agencies to bring an action pursuant to this section shall declare that authorization and its basis in the complaint, and shall itemize in the complaint the total amounts claimed under this section by each represented agency.

(c)Any costs incurred by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in suppressing any wildland fire originating or spreading from a prescribed burning operation conducted by the department pursuant to a contract entered into pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 4475) of Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code shall not be collectible from any party to the contract as provided in subdivision (a), to the extent that those costs were not incurred as a result of a violation of any provision of the contract.

(d)This section applies to all areas of the state, regardless of whether primarily wildlands, sparsely developed, or urban.

(e)The statute of limitations applicable to an action brought pursuant to this section is that set forth in Section 338 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1976–2024 · leading case: Intel Corp. v. Hartford Acc. & Indem. Co., 692 F. Supp. 1171 (N.D. Cal. 1988).
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Intel Corp. v. Hartford Acc. & Indem. Co., 692 F. Supp. 1171 (N.D. Cal. 1988). “30 There is a statutory provision allowing persons to recover costs incurred in suppressing a fire caused by another, see California Health and Safety Code § 13009, and California courts recognize absent any statute that “one protecting his own property has the right to recover…”
People v. S. California Edison Co., 56 Cal. App. 3d 593 (Cal. Ct. App. 1976). “” Health and Safety Code section 13009 was amended in 1971 to incorporate the substance of sections 13007 and 13008 into that section.”
City of Los Angeles v. Shpegel-Dimsey, Inc., 198 Cal. App. 3d 1009 (Cal. Ct. App. 1988). “At the time the fire at issue was ignited, on May 29, 1980, Health and Safety Code section 13009, subdivision (a), provided in pertinent part: “Any person who negligently, or in violation of the law, sets a fire, allows a fire to be set, or allows a fire kindled or attended by…”
People Ex Rel. Grijalva v. Superior Court, 72 Cal. Rptr. 3d 53 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008). “) Health and Safety Code section 13009, subdivision (a) provides, “Any person .”
Bresson v. Comm'r, 111 T.C. 172 (Tax Ct. 1998). “The Government was pursuing a claim against the State of California pursuant to California Health and Safety Code section 13009 for the Government’s expense of fighting a fire negligently set to a national forest.”
United States v. S. California Edison Co., 413 F. Supp. 2d 1101 (E.D. Cal. 2006). “Plaintiff initially alleged that Defendant's hydroelectric plant is an ultrahazardous activity that should subject it to strict liability, and that Defendant should be liable for attorneys’ fees under Cal. Health and Safety Code §§ 13009, 13009.”
People v. Parker CA2/6 (Cal. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 2× “) Our Supreme Court has also more recently recognized that Health and Safety Code section 13009 “provides the sole mechanism by which a public agency may recover costs associated with fire suppression.”
People v. Brian N., 2004 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6213 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004). “Moreover, Health and Safety Code, section 13009, subdivision (a) makes any person “who negligently, or in violation of the law, sets a fire, allows a fire to be set, or allows a fire kindled or attended by him or her to escape onto any public or private property .”
Presbyterian Camp & Conf. Centers v. Super. Ct. (Cal. 2021). “Health and Safety Code sections 13009 and 13009.”
United States v. Wholesale Fireworks Corp. (C.D. Cal. 2024). “27 28 5 California Health and Safety Code sections 13009 and 13009.”
People v. Elder CA4/2 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015). “Further, Health and Safety Code section 13009 provides that a person who sets a fire “is liable for the fire suppression costs incurred in fighting the fire and for the cost of providing rescue or emergency medical services, and those costs shall be a charge against that person.”
Untitled California Attorney Gen. Opinion (Cal. Att'y Gen. 1995). “ANALYSIS Health and Safety Code section 13009, subdivision (a)1 states: "Any person .”
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