Local governments want say in crafting Washington's new wildfire protection rules

The last time the state Building Code Council crafted rules for protecting homes from the threat of wildfire, city and county officials criticized them as confusing, expensive and overreaching.

Those rules are gone. As the state looks at drawing new wildfire risk maps and implementing new codes, local governments want more say in hopes of producing regulations that are understandable, affordable and help the communities most at risk.

“There should be opportunities for the public, subject matter experts and local jurisdictions to weigh in on this process,” said Brad Medrud, planning manager at the City of Tumwater. “It shouldn’t just be the county and [Department of Natural Resources] deciding what this should be moving forward.”

Lawmakers on the state House Local Government committee heard this week from officials of state agencies and local governments, including Medrud, about what must be done to implement new wildland urban interface, or WUI, building codes, and what a new law will mean for cities and counties.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/06/13/local-governments-want-say-in-crafting-new-wildfire-protection-rules/