The latest fight over rules to protect homes from wildfire

The state agency charged with developing codes for commercial and residential buildings in Washington says a new law took away its power to update rules protecting homes from the threat of wildfires.

Members of the state Building Code Council are now turning to the Legislature to ask for that authority back.

Last year, the council approved new codes for homes in the wildland-urban interface – areas between cities and rural lands that are becoming more susceptible to large wildfires. But those codes sparked controversy after builders, cities and environmentalists said they were too expensive, confusing and based on faulty maps.

The Legislature then passed a bill earlier this year to push back implementation of those codes until new maps highlighting wildfire risk were drawn. The bill also put specific code language in state law, which can only be changed by the Legislature.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/10/23/the-latest-fight-over-rules-to-protect-homes-from-wildfire/