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Draper fire chief explains HB48 mapping, who faces potential assessments and what homeowners can do
Summary
Fire Chief Clint Smith told residents HB48 established a statewide WOOI map and higher building standards; only homes in the state's highest‑risk (category 8) pockets face mandated assessments, which legislators have delayed through at least 2027.
Chief Clint Smith of the Draper City Fire Department told residents at a city briefing that HB48, enacted during the 2025 legislative session, created a statewide wildland‑urban interface (WOOI) mapping requirement and new standards for construction and vegetation in the WOOI.
"So let's start with HB48 which was from the 2025 legislative session," Smith said, explaining the law requires mapping, sets building and landscaping standards and directed the state to develop a high‑risk map. He said the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands produced the map using topography, vegetation, fire history and fire‑behavior modeling, and that residents can check an address at wildfireris.utah.gov.
Smith emphasized the law’s mandates are confined to the state’s highest‑risk designation (a category eight on the state map). "These areas in red are the only areas that have been identified within our jurisdiction as a category 8 or the highest risk," he said. He added the assessment and the official determination of risk are the state's responsibility, not the city's.
On potential costs, Smith said the original bill contemplated an annual mitigation assessment and that the legislature has extended the timetable for implementation. "That's going to be probably anywhere between 20 and $100 annually," he said, and legislative changes pushed an implementation date out to at least 2027.
Smith said the HB48 building requirements mainly apply to new construction or substantial remodels that trigger code compliance, and that many existing homes will not face new mandates unless they undertake major construction. He recommended homeowners use the state's map and the city’s resources to learn whether they are in a category‑8 pocket and, if so, to begin mitigation steps that will also help preserve insurability.
Why it matters: Smith said insurers have already notified some owners in high‑risk places of rate increases or cancellations, and the state and city are trying to lessen that effect by improving transparency and offering mitigation guidance. He referred residents with detailed insurance‑regulation questions to the Utah Insurance Commissioner’s office.
What comes next: the city has adopted a local WOOI area map that it will use to focus mitigation outreach. Residents in doubt about their status can enter their address on the state map, sign up for an assessment wait list per the state FAQ, or request a city guidance visit; city staff said they can provide state‑aligned recommendations while the state conducts official assessments.
