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Valley County commissioners seek targeted Wildland-Urban Interface rules, mapping and dry hydrant expansion
Summary
Commissioners discussed using targeted WUI overlays, adopting portions of the International Wildland-Urban Interface code, mapping tools and dry hydrants to reduce wildfire risk, and asked staff and the Fire Working Group to develop hazard maps and draft code language for future action.
Valley County commissioners discussed a package of wildfire-mitigation measures on Feb. 3, requesting staff and local stakeholders to produce on‑the‑ground hazard maps and draft ordinance language that would apply stronger construction and site standards only in the highest-risk areas.
The item grew out of recent work by the county's Fire Working Group and the lands committee, which recommended using a risk model to identify polygons of high, extreme or defensible hazard. County staff and fire stakeholders proposed using mapping tools such as LandTender/Xyloplan and SiloPlan to refine those hazard layers and to apply selective Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) overlays, rather than a single countywide standard.
Commissioners and fire officials said the goal is to keep development possible while reducing ember exposure and improving community defensibility. "When you look at what the probabilities of wildland urban interface issues are, the county's at a…
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