Wildfire Hardening and Waterwise Landscaping

Upcoming Office Hours

Join the Planning and Development Services and Boulder Fire-Rescue team for in-person and virtual office hours this May to ask questions about the WUI update.

• IN-PERSON | Thursday, May 8 | 9:30 to 11 a.m. | Penfield Tate II Municipal Building, 1777 Broadway, Conference Room W101
• VIRTUAL | Friday, May 9 | Noon to 1:30 p.m. | Link will be posted here 24 hours before the event

This 2024-2025 City Council priority project reviews policies and regulations and identifies operational enhancements or code updates focused on:

• Wildfire hardening (building and properties)
• Waterwise landscaping (native plants and nonfunctional turf)

2024 International Wildland Urban Interface Code Adoption

Background

The first change being considered is the adoption of the 2024 updates to the International Wildland Urban Interface Code (IWUIC). Boulder first adopted the IWUIC in 2014 and since then has updated the code every six years.

The IWUIC establishes requirements for land use and the built environment within designated Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas, or areas where urban development meets an area of wild undeveloped vegetation and open space. The code establishes minimum special regulations for the safeguarding of life and property from the intrusion of wildfire and:

• Regulates ignition-resistant construction techniques and defensible space as well as fire department access and available water supplies for fire suppression.
• Focuses on preventing ignition of buildings and vegetative fuels from direct exposure to wildfire and fire exposure from adjacent structures.
• Helps prevent structure fires in the WUI from spreading to wildland fuels, even in the absence of fire department intervention.

Where will the WUI requirements apply?

With the 2024 IWUIC, the city is proposing to apply the requirements to more properties than it has in the past. The map expansion is intended to better address the potential risk of embers spread by wind, as well as new state-level mapping as part of the Wildfire Resiliency Code Board model code.

View a map of the existing and proposed WUI area below. Click on the magnifying glass to search for details on a specific address including the current and proposed WUI classifications. The legend can be accessed in the icon on the top left. Layers can be turned off or on with the lower icon on the right.

I'm in the WUI area - what does that mean?

If your property is in the proposed WUI area, there are additional requirements that help to mitigate risk of wildfire and harden and protect your building and site.

There are three classes of ignition-resistant construction required in the WUI area, depending on fire hazard severity. The 2024 IWUIC and local amendments lay out certain standards for the following building elements whenever a building or structure is constructed, modified, or moved:

The vast majority of properties in the proposed WUI area are within Class 3. The proposed WUI area includes 11,766 parcels that were not previously in the WUI, adding 476 acres of land area. These include 11,534 new parcels in the Class 3 area and 232 parcels in the Class 2 area.

The requirements that apply to Class 3 properties are:

Building Construction (New Construction, Modifications, Relocations)

•Gutters and downspouts

•Vents

•Underfloor areas (uncommon)

•Decks - noncombustible surface and screening (proposed local amendment)

Site Fire Protection

•Fuel modification requirements (new construction only):

•Noncombustible zone (proposed local amendment)

•Low-flammability plants in defensible space (proposed local amendment)

•No new juniper trees or bushes citywide (proposed local amendment)

When do these requirements apply?

The building construction requirements apply when a building permit is issued and are limited to the proposed scope of work. For example, if a permit is pulled to replace a deck, only the specific deck requirements are required to be met. The site requirements apply generally to ensure sites are maintained to reduce the risk of wildfire, but fuel modification requirements only apply to new construction.