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What deleting IWUIC Chapter 5 actually removes
Deleting IWUIC Chapter 5 removes the special building construction chapter. It does not un-adopt the rest of the book. Santa Fe County Ordinance 2023-6 Section 8 adopts the 2021 IWUIC. Section 9.H then says Chapter 5 is deleted. NAC 477.283(4)(e) makes the same cut statewide in Nevada. Clark County Ordinance 5320 and Prescott City Code 6-2 do the opposite: each current local book keeps Chapter 5. A deleted chapter is not a Class A roof.
You are looking at an IWUIC adoption headline on a county website, or at a drawing that says “IWUIC,” and asking whether the roof, the eave, the wall, and the vents now have a WUI construction book. Open the ordinance. If Chapter 5 is deleted, those parts of the house are not in that book.
Why it matters
Embers land on roofs, under decks, and in vents. Chapter 5 is where the model IWUIC puts ignition-resistant construction. Mapping, driveways, and fuel modification can stay in force after that chapter is gone. Specifying “IWUIC Class A” from a book that deleted Chapter 5 names a section that is not adopted.
How it works
The 2021 IWUIC chapter title is Special Building Construction Regulations. The chapter user note on ICC Digital Codes says Chapter 5 sets minimum standards for location, design, and construction based on fire-hazard severity in the wildland-urban interface. It supplements the International Building Code. Features named there include underfloor areas, roof coverings, eaves and soffits, gutters and downspouts, exterior walls, doors and windows, ventilation openings, and accessory structures. 501.1 says buildings shall be constructed in accordance with the IBC and this code, with named exceptions for small accessory structures and agricultural buildings set back 50 feet. 501.2 states the objective: locate, design, and construct to resist damage from wildfires and to mitigate building fires spreading to wildland fuels.
This page does not open the 504–507 construction tables. It does not invent a mesh size or a roof class from a section we did not read.
Santa Fe County is one opened specimen. Ordinance 2023-6, recorded 7 September 2023, is the Santa Fe County Fire Code. It applies in the unincorporated county. Section 8 adopts the 2021 IWUIC as published by ICC, subject to Section 9. Section 9 then cuts:
| Section 9 | What it does |
|---|---|
| A | Replaces IWUIC Chapter 1 with the county’s amended IFC Chapter 1 |
| B | Maps WUI areas on Exhibit A / the GIS Vegetation Classification layer |
| D / F | Driveways 14 feet by 13 feet 6 inches; turnouts 20 by 40 feet |
| H | Deletes Chapter 5 |
| I | Lets the Fire Marshal require sprinklers or alternative water based on access |
| J | Fuel modification not less than 30 feet or to the lot line, whichever is less |
What remains is a mapped overlay with access and fuel-modification rules. It is not Chapter 5 construction. New Mexico statewide still has no IWUIC. See New Mexico WUI code status.
That state/local distinction matters twice. New Mexico’s statewide books are the 2021 IBC and IRC, so there is no statewide IWUIC Chapter 5 to delete. Santa Fe County first creates a local IWUIC overlay, then removes Chapter 5 from that local book. The result is not a statewide New Mexico amendment and does not make the County’s remaining map, access, or fuel-modification rules statewide.
Nevada is the statewide specimen. The State Fire Marshal adopts the 2018 IWUIC and then deletes Chapter 5. See Nevada WUI code status.
Washoe County is the split-layer specimen. Its building-code history records Ordinance 1736 and a 2024 IWUIC Chapter 5 adoption. Ordinance 1750 separately adopts the companion fire-code chapters, deletes Chapter 5 from that layer, and directs building-construction matters to the building code official. One deletion does not erase the other coordinated adoption. See the Washoe County place record.
Clark County is one opposite specimen. Ordinance 5320 adopts the 2024 IWUIC in its entirety except as specifically amended. The listed amendments are Chapters 1, 3, and 4. Chapter 5 is not listed. See Clark County IWUIC over Nevada.
Prescott is the other opened opposite specimen. Section 103.1 assigns Chapter 5 administration and enforcement to the Chief Building Official. The same chapter then publishes local replacements and additions in Sections 501 through 506, including Class A roof assemblies in Classes 2 and 3, a Class 3 vent path, and Class 3 eave protection. That is a kept and amended construction chapter, not a deletion. See the IWUIC edition on the lot.
The paths
| Cut | What you still have | What you do not have from Chapter 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Fe County 9.H | Map, driveways, 30-foot-or-to-lot-line fuel modification | IWUIC ignition-resistant construction |
| Nevada NAC 477.283(4)(e) | An SFM IWUIC adoption with Chapter 5 gone | A statewide roof, wall, vent, or deck book |
| Washoe County Ords. 1736 / 1750 | Chapter 5 in the building layer; fire inputs in the companion layer | Do not apply the fire-layer deletion to both books |
| Clark County Ord. 5320 | 2024 IWUIC including Chapter 5, on mapped lots the official names | Do not treat this as Nevada statewide |
| Prescott City Code 6-2 | 2024 IWUIC with a retained and locally amended Chapter 5 | Do not infer the project trigger or City-assigned risk class from a ZIP |
| Chapter 5 still in the adopted book | Ask the official which edition and which class | Spec that book, not a deleted chapter |
What people mix up
- Treating “we adopted IWUIC” as a Class A roof. Chapter 5 may be deleted.
- Treating a GIS WUI polygon as a construction specification.
- Treating Santa Fe County 9.H as New Mexico statewide. It is unincorporated Santa Fe County.
- Treating New Mexico’s lack of a statewide IWUIC and Santa Fe County’s local Chapter 5 deletion as the same legal act.
- Treating Nevada’s deletion as if it also deleted Clark County’s 2024 book.
- Treating Washoe’s companion fire-code deletion as if it erased the County’s separate building-code Chapter 5.
- Treating the deletion in another jurisdiction as if it erased Prescott’s locally amended Chapter 5.
- Importing Oregon R327 or California CWUIC to fill the hole.
How to check
- Open the adopting ordinance. Search for “Chapter 5.”
- If the ordinance says Chapter 5 is deleted, do not spec 504–507 from that book.
- Ask what remains: map, access, water, fuel modification, another adopted building code.
- If you are in unincorporated Santa Fe County, open Ordinance 2023-6 Sections 8 and 9.
- If you are in Prescott, open 6-2 and confirm the project trigger and City-assigned risk class.
- If you are in unincorporated Washoe County, keep Ordinances 1736 and 1750 in separate columns and ask which official supplies each project input.
- This site does not read your parcel.
Limits
This page quotes the Chapter 5 user note, 501.1, and 501.2 from the opened 2021 IWUIC chapter page and the locally published Prescott amendments named above. It does not reproduce unmodified model-book construction text. It does not classify a parcel. It does not decide a city book we have not opened. Fuel modification in Santa Fe County 9.J is a Chapter 6 remainder, not a substitute for Chapter 5.
Related records
- Covering versus assembly for why a roof class lives in a chapter, not in a shingle bag
- Clark County IWUIC over Nevada for a 2024 book that kept Chapter 5
- Nevada WUI code status
- Washoe County for the coordinated building and fire layers
- New Mexico WUI code status
- How WUI is mapped
- Fire apparatus access for the Santa Fe County driveway numbers
- Prescott and Santa Fe County place records
Questions
If a jurisdiction adopted IWUIC, do I have a WUI roof book?
Not if it deleted Chapter 5. Chapter 5 is Special Building Construction Regulations. Santa Fe County Ordinance 2023-6 Section 9.H deletes it. NAC 477.283(4)(e) deletes it on Nevada’s State Fire Marshal path. Confirm the ordinance, not the adoption headline.
What is still in force after Chapter 5 is gone?
Whatever the adopting ordinance left. Santa Fe County still maps WUI areas, amends driveway width and turnouts, and keeps a 30-foot-or-to-lot-line fuel-modification rule in Chapter 6. Mapping, access, and defensible space without Chapter 5 are not a Class A roof, a listed vent, or an ignition-resistant wall.
Which opened local books keep Chapter 5?
Clark County and Prescott keep Chapter 5 in their local books. Washoe uses a split adoption: Ordinance 1736 places 2024 IWUIC Chapter 5 in the building code, while Ordinance 1750 deletes Chapter 5 only from the companion fire-code layer and assigns building construction to the building code official. Those are not Nevada's statewide deleted-Chapter-5 path.
Did Washoe County's fire-code deletion erase its building-code Chapter 5?
No. The accepted authority record keeps the two coordinated adoptions separate. Ordinance 1750 deletes Chapter 5 from the companion fire-code layer and sends building-construction matters to the building code official; Washoe's building-code history separately records Ordinance 1736 and the 2024 IWUIC Chapter 5 adoption. Boundary, hazard, water, defensible space, class, project edition, and official confirmation still remain open.
Does deleting Chapter 5 mean the lot is outside the WUI?
No. Santa Fe County 9.B still declares WUI-area boundaries on the GIS Vegetation Classification layer. Nevada still adopted the 2018 IWUIC before deleting Chapter 5. A mapped overlay without a construction chapter is not the same as no overlay.
Can I spec Class A from IWUIC Chapter 5 on a Santa Fe County drawing?
Not from that ordinance. Section 9.H deletes Chapter 5. New Mexico does not have a statewide IWUIC construction book. Ask the building official whether another adopted book names a roof class. See New Mexico WUI code status.
Did Santa Fe County's deletion remove Chapter 5 statewide in New Mexico?
No. New Mexico's statewide construction rules adopt the 2021 IBC and IRC, not IWUIC. Santa Fe County's Ordinance 2023-6 is a separate unincorporated-county adoption whose Section 9.H deletes Chapter 5. Keep the absence of a statewide IWUIC separate from the content of that one local overlay.
Sources
- Santa Fe County Ordinance 2023-6 Fire Code
- 2021 IWUIC Chapter 5 Special Building Construction Regulations
- Nev. Admin. Code § 477.283 Changes to codes adopted by reference
- Clark County Ordinance 5320 Wildland-Urban Interface Code
- Prescott City Code 6-2 Urban-Wildland Interface Code
- History of Adopted Building Codes within Washoe County
- Washoe County Ordinance 1750
- 14.7.2 NMAC 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code