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Interlaken council plans public outreach, home assessments as it prepares to adopt state WUI rules
Summary
After a briefing with Wasatch Fire District officials, the council said it will redraft a local Wildland-Urban Interface ordinance required under House Bill 48, schedule a public presentation and encourage homeowner defensible-space work ahead of 2028 fee changes.
On March 3, the Interlaken Town Council heard an update on House Bill 48 and what town staff described as an urgent need to adopt a Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) code and map provided by the state.
Council Chair (S2) said fire-district staff told the town that the state-produced map currently places a majority of town properties in a high-risk zone and that adopting the WUI ordinance is necessary to secure state cooperation and funding for fire response. “If we had a fire tomorrow and we hadn’t adopted this, we would get no cooperation from the state and funding to fight the fire,” S2 said.
S1 and S2 said town staff met for about an hour and a half with Wasatch Fire District representatives (named in the meeting as Troy Morgan and a battalion chief) and will rework the draft ordinance after the legislature finishes its session. The council agreed to schedule a separate public presentation by the fire district, during which the district will show a prepared slideshow and offer individual home assessments and recommendations on defensible-space measures.
Officials highlighted concrete mitigation steps discussed by the fire district, including clearing combustible material adjacent to houses and maintaining prescribed clearances around structures. S2 told residents the state’s map is adjusted annually and that an on-site assessment can potentially lower a property’s risk level on the adopted map, which could affect future insurance assessments and any state fees tied to square footage. S2 noted a small fee window for the next two years, with a substantial fee structure tied to square footage scheduled to take effect on 2028-01-01.
Council members and staff emphasized that the town will distribute explanatory materials and the district’s guidance (including examples of 5-foot and 10-foot clearances mentioned during the meeting) before adopting the ordinance. S1 said Wasatch Fire District staff were willing to return to conduct a community meeting at the fire station and to perform assessments for homeowners who want them.
The council did not vote on an ordinance at the meeting; S2 said staff will redraft the ordinance and bring it back for consideration at an upcoming meeting once the legislature’s final language is clear. The council urged homeowners to begin mitigation work and to watch for town-provided guidance and upcoming meeting notices.
