The risk of wildfire is a great concern. After the devastation of the Camp Fire you may be wondering what you can do to protect your home and family. You know about defensible space, right? But did you know that in July 2008, California adopted the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) as part of the building code, which requires fire resistive construction standards for new construction.
Although existing structures are not currently required to be retrofitted to meet these requirements, some of these basic construction standards along with defensible space can be your best chance against protecting life and property. Fire resistive materials such as decking, roofing, and building exterior wall coverings to roof and eave venting are some examples of WUI construction standards. For more details, please access our WUI handouts on the Building Department's homepage . If you have any questions about these handouts or any approved fire rated material, please contact the Nevada County Building Department by email at buildingdept@co.nevada.ca.us or by phone at (530) 265-1222. To retrofit your home to add many of these WUI standards, a building permit may be required. Please contact the Building Department to verify permitting requirements.
WUI Handouts:
https://www.mynevadacounty.com/DocumentCenter/View/25877/WUI-Homeowner-Checklist-PDF
https://www.mynevadacounty.com/DocumentCenter/View/25876/WUI-Brochure-PDF
Other Helpful Links:
http://www.readyforwildfire.org/
http://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_prevention/fire_prevention
http://www.wildlandfirersg.org/
https://www.usfa.fema.gov/wui_toolkit/
