Sedona Fire District adopted the 2018 edition of the Wildland-Urban Interface code at its public hearing meeting on Nov. 16.
According to Fire Marshal Jon Davis, who retired Nov. 17, this updated code redefines and establishes the WUI Zone. The WUI zone maintains the transition between wilderness and land development by human activity. From the previous 2003 edition, which was adopted in 2007, the WUI Zone consisted of “any lot that was continuous or contiguous to managed forest lands.”
“The most significant change is that we extended that zone to any property that is within ⅛ mile, or 660 feet, of managed forest lands,” Davis said. This also includes properties where extreme vegetation would contribute to rapid fire spread.
The SFD expanded the WUI zone in response to recent fires growing larger and faster moving. Moving the zones back in distance protects properties and decreases the flame front that impacts properties that are even a great distance away, according to SFD staff. Over time, SFD hopes that newer structures will be built around the WUI zone, and in the neighbors most affected by it, with more fire survivability that will help with the slow and spread of these wildfires.
The complete adoption of the 2018 WUI Code, as well as the preserved sections of the 2003 WUI code, and the new WUI zone map can be found on the Sedona Fire District website. The majority of the WUI zones are on outskirts of current neighbors. But with this adoption, some properties previously out of the zone will now be considered at a greater risk of wildfire damage.
“There are other several small differences between the 2003 and the 2018 editions,” Davis said. “But overall, they are very similar.”
The SDF unanimously adopted this code on Nov. 16. It went into effect immediately.
