Oregon Adopts Building Code Options for Wildfire Hazard Mitigation

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January 2019. Oregon Building Codes Division has adopted an amendment to the Oregon Residential Specialty Code that allows local jurisdictions to adopt wildfire hazard mitigation provisions for residential structures. The provisions are based on the International Code Council’s Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Code. The amendment gives cities and counties a new, effective tool for improving wildfire resiliency. 

The CPAW program has worked with four Oregon communities– Ashland, Bend, Sisters, and Wasco County. CPAW’s recommendations for Bend, Sisters, and Waco county included adopting a wildland-urban interface code for structures. 

Recent research by Headwaters Economics through the CPAW program found the cost of constructing a home compliant with the International WUI Code to be rough the same as the cost of constructing a typical home. 

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