Cache County officials briefed on state plan to map wildfire risk, set small per-structure fee
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Summary
State wildfire staff briefed Cache County officials on HB 48, which creates a high-risk WUI map insurers must use, establishes a statewide parcel assessment and certification process, and requires counties to collect a modest per-structure fee (initially $20–$100, average ≈ $50).
Joseph Anderson, a representative of the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, told Cache County council members and local fire officials in an online briefing that HB 48 directs the state to draw a high-risk wildland-urban interface (WUI) boundary, assess a nominal fee per structure inside that boundary, and provide a statewide certification process to document mitigation work at the parcel level.
Anderson said one of the bill’s primary goals is homeowner education: the division will identify properties within a narrowly drawn state high-risk boundary and advise owners what they can do to improve a home’s chances of surviving wildfire. “One of the intents of this bill is to educate the public that live within those areas on how they can better protect their homes so that when that wildfire comes through, their structure is still standing at the end of it,” Anderson said.
The statute distinguishes two maps, Anderson and local staff said. The state will publish a “high-risk” map used only for the fee assessment; counties retain separate local WUI maps for adopting and enforcing building-code standards and mitigation requirements. The state map includes a density test, Anderson said, generally requiring at least two structures within roughly 250 meters to be included, which means widely spaced cabins may not appear on the state fee map even when vegetation risk exists.
County officials pressed for operational detail. Anderson said the fee is assessed on the structure (by square footage) and that the state will deliver a map and property list to counties rather than requiring counties to identify properties on their own. He described an early implementation approach of low, flat fees for the first two years while the state gathers cost data; during that period he said examples discussed ranged from about $20 for small structures to about $100 for the largest structures. Anderson and others also described an illustrative average fee figure of about $50 per parcel to cover initial software and assessment costs, subject to change after the state refines its cost estimates.
Representative Casey Snyder emphasized that HB 48 requires insurers to use the state’s WUI map rather than private risk layers, and he described an incentive for mitigation: homeowners who complete parcel-level mitigation and earn certification could be reclassified as lower risk and potentially receive lower insurance premiums. “This is what WUI means,” Snyder said of the state layer; “if somebody is in the WUI and they coordinate…and do all the tasks to make their home fire safe…they can go back in and have their home certified as low risk.”
On timing and process, officials said the Division will develop statewide assessment criteria and a software platform for consistent lot reviews, including vegetation zones near the house and building material checks (roof, siding, decking, eaves). Anderson said the state intends to update the high-risk map annually to reflect new development and recent fires. County staff and council members were told there is a multi-step lead time: the Division expects roughly 24 months of preparation before fees appear on local tax bills, and the fee collection mechanism will be coordinated through tax notices.
Council members raised practical concerns. They asked how remote private cabins with no county records will be handled; Anderson said the Division will work with county assessors and GIS staff on those special cases. Officials also warned that because counties will collect and remit the fee on local tax bills, counties may receive questions or criticism from residents; Anderson said the Division will help craft outreach language and notices to explain the fee’s state origin and the mitigation options available to homeowners.
The session closed with officials agreeing to share the state high-risk layer when ready, integrate it with Cache County’s GIS, and present a short update to the council once structures inside the boundary are identified. The meeting adjourned without a formal vote on local actions.
