Findings

CWRC Section 502.4.1 requires fencing within 8 feet of a regulated structure, or up to the property line where that is nearer, to be noncombustible or ignition-resistant. It then carries one exception, in full - "Vinyl fencing. Vinyl fencing may be allowed." The permission is discretionary rather than automatic, so a local code official can still refuse it, and the state minimum only applies where a jurisdiction has adopted the code and mapped the parcel. Confirm with the building official before specifying vinyl inside the 8-foot band.

CWRC Section 404.8 gives three exterior-door paths - approved noncombustible construction, solid core wood not less than 1 3/4 inches thick, or a fire protection rating of not less than 20 minutes. Wood is not a fallback or an exception there; it is one of the three named paths. Vehicle access doors are excepted from this section and are instead caught by the perimeter-gap rule in 404.9. This is the mirror image of Oregon barring wood shingle and shake roofs, and the pair is the point - "no wood in the WUI" is wrong in both directions, and what matters is which assembly, at which thickness, in which code.

IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home requires a 0–5 foot noncombustible zone. The technical standard requires removal of combustible groundcover, including wood and rubber mulch, to bare mineral soil. Bark, wood chips, and rubber mulch in that band fail Essential.

CAL FIRE home-hardening guidance tells homeowners to keep the area beneath a deck and the first five feet around it clear of combustible material and to use hardscape in that zone. This is California mitigation guidance, not a construction-code application or an IBHS designation.

R327.3.4.1 requires protection of the exposed underside of rafter or truss eaves and enclosed soffits when any portion of the framing is under 12 feet. Exception 3 names fascia and other architectural trim boards. Wrapping fascia as if it were the eave assembly is not what that section requires. Confirm the drawing with the building official.

Oregon BCD’s local-adoption FAQ states Section R327 applies only to structures governed by the ORSC. Manufactured dwellings are factory-built to federal HUD standards and an Oregon installation code. They are not under ORSC scope. Deschutes County repeats that manufactured dwellings are not applicable. A wildfire package from a manufacturer is optional, not R327.

Oregon State Fire Marshal defensible-space guidance tells homeowners to use river rock, gravel, or pavers within five feet of the structure and to remove bark mulch from that buffer. This is statewide mitigation guidance, not an ORSC R327 application.

Deschutes County’s R327 page states R327 provides no code requirements for stair assemblies to elevated decks or landings, and that BCD treats those stairs as exempt. Walking-surface and underfloor rules for the deck are separate sentences. Do not copy the deck-board test onto the stair stringer without the official.

OSFM category 8110 carries four separate Trex listings across three product lines, not one entry for the brand. 8110-2052:0004 is Trex Transcend composite, :0005 is Trex Select composite, :0501 is Trex Transcend Lineage composite, and :0502 is Trex Refuge PVC. Each row fixes a specific board, thickness, edge and gap, and one of the four is a different material class from the others. Writing “Trex” on a drawing is not any of those IDs. This finding does not say Trex is banned. Match the listing ID and the R327 walking-surface path. Confirm with the building official.

Screening laid horizontally under deck boards does not close the ember path from the side. For decks with a walking surface 4 feet or less above the ground, the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home technical standard requires noncombustible corrosion-resistant mesh with openings not exceeding 1/8 inch, fully enclosing the outer edge of the deck from the walking surface to the ground. Above 4 feet the standard sets other requirements for the space, so read the height first.

Perforated or louvered fiber-cement soffit panels are a cladding product. Where eave ventilation is allowed, R327.3.2 asks for noncombustible corrosion-resistant metal wire mesh between 1/16 and 1/8 inch, a vent designed to resist the intrusion of burning embers and flame, or other approved materials. A perforated cladding panel is none of those three on its own. R327 does not name a test method for that vent; ASTM E2886 is the test the industry uses to demonstrate it, not a path the Oregon text cites. Deschutes County’s R327 page flags soffits under 12 feet as a protected assembly.

Where Oregon R327 is adopted, roofing must be asphalt, slate, metal, tile, clay or concrete shingles, or other approved covering deemed equivalent to a minimum Class B roof assembly. Wood shingle and shake roofs are not permitted on structures in the designated area.

ORSC R327 lists noncombustible, ignition-resistant, heavy timber, log, or tested wall assemblies. Paint-on fire coatings are not in that list. Presenters at the 25 June 2026 Central Oregon Fire Hardening Codes Seminar stated coatings are not accepted to meet R327. Confirm with the local building official.

R327.3.2 allows underfloor ventilation openings to be covered with noncombustible corrosion-resistant metal wire mesh between 1/16 inch and 1/8 inch, or with vents designed to resist burning embers and flame, or other approved materials. Mesh is a sized screen, not ASTM E2886. Presenters at the 25 June 2026 Central Oregon seminar stated foundation vents need screen size, not an ember-intrusion test. Eave underside openings are a different sentence.

R327.3.2 covers ventilation openings for enclosed attics, enclosed soffit spaces, enclosed rafter spaces, and underfloor spaces. It names mesh size or vents designed to resist burning embers and flame. It does not name bath fans, fireplaces, or fresh-air intakes. Presenters at the 25 June 2026 Central Oregon Fire Hardening Codes Seminar stated those mechanical openings sit outside that section. Confirm with the building official.