With Extension assistant wildland fire science professor Brad Washa.
Fire-dependent ecosystems are areas that have developed to use fire to their advantage, replenishing nutrients and maintaining the ecosystem's health.
California is famous for its fire-dependent ecosystems, but it isn't unique to them. Utah also has fire-dependent ecosystems, and some people live adjacent to them in what is called the wildland urban interface.
Utah homes and properties in this area are threatened by wildfires similar to those in California, and it's important for property owners to understand how wildland fires could affect them and how they can change the outcome.
Brad Washa is here to help us understand wildfires and what there is to be done to address them.
Wynter Varner
Thank you for joining us today, Brad.
Brad Washa
Well, thanks for having me, Wynter.
Wynter Varner
Let's talk about what the legislature is doing right now to address these wildfires with House Bill 48 (H.B. 48). Can you tell me what that is?
Brad Washa
H.B. 48 actually came through the last session of the Utah State Legislature, and its title is the Wildland Fire Urban Interface Modification.
That bill actually went into effect on Jan. 1 of this year when Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands actually published a map and the rules that support that legislation.
Wynter Varner
Are there any particular areas in Utah that may be more affected by this bill and wildfires than others?
Brad Washa
The bill's intent is to encourage property owners who live in what we call the Wildland Urban Interface, where the wildland meets development, to have sense a shared responsibility with fire risk. There are some areas that are more affected than others.
When the Forestry, Fire, and State Lands department developed their rules to implement it, there were approximately 60,000 structures within the high-risk wildland urban interface boundary. Those are the areas of greatest concern.
Wynter Varner
What does the term "fire-wise" mean?
Brad Washa
It means kind of a couple of different things. There's a program called Firewise where communities can be designated as fire-wise. It doesn't say that they're protected from wildfire, but it's saying that they're taking actions to promote protecting that community in the event of a wildfire.
Being fire-wise is basically taking actions that are proactive around someone's home to make it more survivable in the event of a wildfire. We sometimes refer to being fire-wise as community resiliency.
Wynter Varner
What are some of the precautions that people living in wildland urban interfaces can take to protect their homes?
Brad Washa
That basically begins from the home itself and what it's constructed from. As far as siding, using cement fiber instead of vinyl is a precaution. Looking at the eaves and not having vents where embers could get into the house also helps. The structure of the roof itself, having a metal roof instead of cedar shingles.
Precautions then build out from the house and beyond. For the first zero to five feet, its important to avoid having materials that are combustible. This includes not having wooden mulch that could potentially burn.
Limbs from trees should be trimmed so that they aren't coming into contact with the house. Combustible materials can be something even as simple as a fibrous mat that you have in front of the house.
Then, you move out to the five feet to 30 feet area. Here, you'd have more grass versus trees. Or, if you do have trees, look at deciduous trees that are also water-wise. If a fire were to come in, a deciduous tree wouldn't ignite like a conifer tree.
And then, in the 30 feet to up to 100 feet area, even beyond if you're on a steep slope, thinning out the vegetation, and some sparse conifer trees. It's essential to make sure you're trimming those out so that if fire were to start, it's not going to go from the surface into the canopy and then crown out and potentially put embers on the house.
Wynter Varner
As we approach the warmer months, especially after such a dry winter, what can homeowners expect during the fire season?
Brad Washa
It's kind of hard to say now what to expect going into the fire season. I wouldn't say there's cause for alarm yet, but there are some indicators that we need to watch as the winter progresses.
We're in January, and we still have a couple months of winter left, and that could could change things as far as how that's going to reflect in the fire season moving forward.
Currently, we've had a high pressure that's kind of blocking moisture coming in, or the moisture we have been seeing has been in the form of rain instead of snow. If we continue to see these dry winter conditions, that could be detrimental going into the fire season.
Wynter Varner
Do you have any other resources you'd like to share today?
Brad Washa
USU Extension has put out a couple of YouTube videos. One that we just put out kind of looked at the Forsyth fire and what lessons were learned out of that. That one's called What We Learned About Utah Wildfires in 2025.
We also collaborated with Brian Schnee from KUTV news and produced a video called Firewise Landscaping for this summer. That video shows people what they could do around their home to be fire-wise. The other one talks a little bit more about community resiliency.
Wynter Varner
Thank you so much for sharing your insight, and thank you for coming on today.
Brad Washa
Well, thanks for having me.
Wynter Varner
This has been Wynter Varner with the USU Extension Education Highlights, thank you for tuning in.
For more information on this and other topics, visit extension.usu.edu.
