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Los Alamos Council adopts Wildland-Urban Interface code amendments to strengthen wildfire resilience
Summary
Council adopted an ordinance to incorporate parts of the 2021 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code into county building and fire regulations; officials said the code applies on new permits and is not retroactive.
Los Alamos County Council on May 6 adopted an ordinance incorporating chapters 2, 5 and 6 of the International Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Code into local building and fire regulations to reduce wildfire risk.
Council approved the ordinance, numbered CO 02-368, unanimously (7-0). County staff and fire officials told the council the changes are intended to create regulatory clarity for building reviewers and inspectors, encourage fire-hardened construction practices and help the community when insurers assess properties.
David Martinez, the county's building official, said the WUI ordinance "is not meant to be punitive and will only be applied when major improvements come in as a building permit and this will not be retroactive." Dan Osborne, the county's housing and special projects manager, said the code gives staff a clearer standard to require Class A fire-rated assemblies on new work and to point contractors to best practices.
Fire officials said the ordinance addresses both building materials and the surrounding environment to reduce fuel for potential wildfires. The council also discussed neighborhood-scale programs such as Firewise and the county's home-assessment program; staff reported about eight online participants at a recent town hall and 15-20 submitted questions.
Councilors asked technical questions including whether multi-story residential buildings would require sprinklers; staff said triggers for sprinkler requirements are based on building height (above the truck parking level) and that some planned townhouse projects would be evaluated under existing approvals and code measurements.
Proponents told the council the code could help when insurance companies review properties because the county can demonstrate that homes and businesses were built to higher standards. Staff said the county recently entered Stage 1 fire restrictions and that the WUI ordinance supplements other mitigation efforts such as home assessments, trail restoration and fuels reduction.
The council asked staff to publish the ordinance summary as provided in the county charter. The code changes will apply to new permits and major improvements; staff told the council that ordinary maintenance and minor repairs generally will not trigger retroactive upgrades.
