Ukiah Valley Fire District introduces 2025 California Fire Code and first-ever WUI code; limits on local restrictions noted

The Ukiah Valley Fire District board introduced an ordinance by title and voted to proceed with a resolution to adopt the 2025 California Fire Code (Part 9) and the 2025 Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Code (Part 7).

Matt, the district presenter, said the WUI code consolidates road, turnaround and other local standards previously found across several codes into a single “one-stop shop.” He said the district did not make any changes that are more restrictive than the district’s prior code, noting that a recently enacted measure in the state budget tied to Assembly Bill 306 restricts jurisdictions from increasing local restrictions beyond what was already in place.

“This year... the governor brought in a bridal, assembly bill 3 0 6... What that bill clarifies is that we cannot make any restrictions to the fire code more restrictive than what we already have,” Matt said. He explained that some previously local provisions (for example, lithium battery storage rules) have been incorporated into the state code, and that the WUI code pulls in certain standards (road turnarounds, hammerheads, Chapter 7A building provisions) to centralize them.

Staff also pointed to administrative cleanups in the district’s local ordinance. The redline packet removed provisions that are now in the state code (including certain lithium battery storage sections) and added clarified local language requiring UL-listed Knox Box devices for access where the district enforces that measure.

The board voted to introduce the ordinance by title and approved the motion to adopt the ordinance and a corresponding resolution establishing findings of fact to address local conditions; the matter will return for final adoption consistent with the district’s ordinance process.