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Utah’s HB48 creates high‑risk WUI map, homeowner lot assessments and insurer reporting
Summary
House Bill 48 directs the Division to refine a high‑risk wildland‑urban interface boundary, requires county‑collected property fees and owner‑requested lot assessments on a 1–3 triage scale, and mandates insurer use of the Division’s high‑risk map and disclosure if coverage changes; administrative rules and assessor certification will govern implementation ahead of 2026 tax assessments.
House Bill 48 lays out a state framework for identifying high‑risk wildland‑urban interface (WUI) areas and assessing individual properties to reduce structure losses from wildfire.
Joseph Anderson, cooperative wildfire system manager for the state of Utah, told League of Cities and Towns members that the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands will refine and publish a ‘high‑risk WUI’ boundary based on last year’s HB437 structure‑exposure mapping and a density threshold. Anderson said the high‑risk layer identifies scores of structures with elevated exposure — “about 80,000 structures in the state of Utah” — that may be subject to lot assessments and fees.
Why it matters: The law is intended to lower ignition and exposure risks at the parcel level and to reduce downstream fiscal impacts…
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