County leaders denounce "House Bill 48" wildfire‑interface mandate, warn of inspection burden and tax impact

At the Oct. 13 Iron County Commission meeting, several county leaders expressed alarm about House Bill 48, a recently enacted state change to wildland‑urban interface (WUI) policy that they say shifts large inspection and enforcement duties to counties beginning Jan. 1.

Commissioners and staff described the bill as requiring parcel inspections across mapped WUI areas and authority for counties to levy fines where vegetation or trees are found too close to homes. One commissioner said the county’s preliminary reading shows a default assessment modeled at 20 cents per square foot that could increase some property tax bills by several hundred dollars annually; staff said the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will write implementing rules and that many details remain undefined.

Commissioners criticized the timing and the scope. They said the county would likely need to hire multiple full‑time inspectors; one estimate provided in the meeting suggested six new full‑time employees would be required to meet the inspection schedule. The county’s public-safety and emergency-management leaders warned that volunteer fire departments and existing local resources cannot absorb the staffing, time and enforcement burden.

County commissioners said they are working with state legislators to try to repeal or modify the law before the implementation date but acknowledged the legal obligation to prepare in the meantime. The commission asked county staff to quantify the staffing and budget implications for inclusion in upcoming budget hearings and to coordinate with other counties pursuing legislative relief.