KittitasCountyCWPP_September2022_Amendment-combined

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Community Wildfire Protection Plan 20 September 2018 3.6 Wildland Urban Interface This 2018 Kittitas County CWPP defines the concept of WUI as, “any area where the combination of human development and vegetation have a potential to result in negative impacts from wildfire on the community.” The formal definition of WUI is rooted in the Code of Federal Regulations and describes conditions under which vegetation and structures meet or intermix. This definition uses levels of structure density or population density to subdivide WUI into Interface and Intermix categories. Interface refers to areas where structures directly abut wildland fuels, but there is a clear line of demarcation between developed and wildland areas. Intermix refers to areas where structures are scattered throughout a wildland area. While the Code of Federal Regulations guidelines for structure density are helpful, the definitions are still fairly vague in terms of geographically defining WUI with a set of mappable criteria. 3.6.1 History of Wildland Urban Interface Code in Kittitas County Kittitas County adopted the International Wildland Urban Interface Code (IWUIC) in January 2013 (no. 2013-013) with amendments located in Kittitas County Code Title 20 and Appendix B: Vegetation Management Plan as a tool to mitigate wildland fire risk as vacant private land is converted to the built environment. IWUIC was adopted shortly after the Taylor Bridge wildfire in 2012 which destroyed over sixty residential homes and cabins. In April 2018, the Kittitas County Board of Commissioners included the adoption of Appendix C of the IWUIC allowing for individual site analysis and removal of certain sprinkler requirements for building requirements. The intent of the IWUIC is to supplement adopted International building and fire codes and establish a minimum set of regulations for life and property from wildland fires and mitigate potential structure fires turning into wildfires. Communities in Kittitas County are faced with Wildland Urban Interface in two contexts that pertain differently to each constituent depending on their land objectives; the The Wildland Urban Interface in Kittitas County encompasses large areas of land. Within these areas is an increased risk of wildfire. There is also an increased risk structure to structure ignition or being wildfires inadvertently caused in more densely populated areas. Wildfire risk can be reduced using a number of different mitigation strategies like vegetation management and code development. Kittitas recently adopted new building and land use development rules to help ensure any new building or development in the WUI is adequately defensible from wildfire and fire resistant to avoid the spread of fire in and from the home. As Kittitas County population steadily increases in the WUI, risk management will need to include short-term and long-term strategies to increase community resiliency addressing developments, vegetation management and other facets of living in a wildfire prone landscape.