A screenshot of Skagit County on the Washington Wildland-Urban Interface map. Red zones mark interface areas. Yellow zones mark intermix areas. Green zones mark uninhabited vegetated areas.
A screenshot of Skagit County on the Washington Wildland-Urban Interface map. Red zones mark interface areas. Yellow zones mark intermix areas. Green zones mark uninhabited vegetated areas.
Skagit County Planning and Development Services will implement new fire codes for construction and homeowners in some rural areas.
The new codes are based on state code.
Jack Moore, a building official for Planning and Development Services, presented the department’s plans and answered questions during a meeting of the Skagit County Board of Commissioners.
The International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, adopted by the state last year, serves to make communities and structures adjacent to burn-risk wildland more fire resistant.
The new code will help address the issue of the increasing frequency of fires within the state, Moore said.
The Wildland-Urban Interface Code provides guidelines for areas where developments and structures are adjacent to or intermixed with wildlands.
The state Department of Natural Resources mapped such areas throughout the state.
The code deals with management of a property’s landscape and vegetation; requirements for ignition resistant construction for new construction, additions and alterations to buildings and structures; requirements for access to water supply; and more.
“If you come in for an addition or a patio or something, now this is something you’re going to have to deal with,” Moore said. “If you replaced your roof, this code (would require you to have) an ignition resistant roof.”
Landscape and vegetation management guidelines pertain to the defensible space surrounding a home — the spacing of vegetation and trees, the removal of flammable vegetation, the pruning of low tree branches, and more.
The county will not monitor individual landowners for compliance with the code, but will instead limit monitoring to permit reviews and inspections.
For the wider community, Planning and Development Services will focus on educational outreach and making recommendations regarding the new code, Moore said. He anticipated the need to educate the community for several months.
“We expect a lot of education before full implementation,” Moore said. “We have been getting a lot of questions — people wondering why it applies to them.”
Moore showed the commissioners a draft of a handout aimed to assist property owners with navigating the new code.
Planning and Development Services plans to continue to update the handout to make it more user friendly prior to its release.
Moore said compliance to the code will provide both direct and indirect benefits to homeowners, resulting in lower insurance rates and better home protection from fires.
— Reporter Benjamin Leung: bleung@skagitpublishing.com, 360-416-2156, Twitter: @goskagit
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