Wildfire risk (the likelihood of a fire occurring based on historical fire occurrence and ignition sources) is identified by the Greater Bend Community Wildfire Protection Plan (2012), as high to extreme in the Bend area. Vegetation management, such as thinning and brush removal, may reduce the hazard (resistance to control, once a fire starts, based on weather, topography, and vegetation type) in some areas, but further mitigation measures are needed to protect new and existing development in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Additional mitigation measures fall into two categories: development patterns and construction techniques.

Construction techniques are typically enforced through the use of building codes. For example, the building codes found in the 2012 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC) would provide a logical extension of the International Fire Code presently used by the City of Bend to protect commercial buildings. The IWUIC is directed toward the protection of residential development in the wildland-urban interface. The City will involve key stakeholders to determine the appropriate building code language necessary to reduce wildfire hazard to residential structures located in the WUI.

The IWUIC may require some modification to meet Bend’s development pattern needs in the UGB expansion areas. The IWUIC depends on widely spaced buildings to provide defensible space against wildfire; however, this may not be an appropriate land use pattern in areas that are expected to expand in the future. Therefore, in expansion areas where greater land use efficiency (i.e., smaller lots and more closely spaced buildings) is appropriate, the City may consider allowing buffers of aggregated defensible space commensurate with wildfire hazard instead of widely spaced individual buildings.