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WUI is not only the West
You may believe WUI fire is a western-state problem. The U.S. Fire Administration’s WUI page, opened 26 August 2026, says otherwise: more than 60,000 communities in the United States are at risk, citing a National Association of State Foresters PDF. NASF’s FY2021 report counts 63,661 Communities At Risk. That count is not a construction code and not a read of your lot.
You are in a hardwood hollow, a pine-barren lot, or a prairie edge, looking at California photos and deciding the page does not apply. USFA names brush, grass, forest, and other outdoor fires as the same class of call.
Why it matters
Embers and a grass fire against a wood fence do not require a statewide IWUIC book. The national floor is household work (Ready.gov, USFA’s home ignition zones) plus whatever adopted code actually exists. See how to read a state page.
How it works
USFA’s sentence is a community-scale warning, not a map of your parcel. NASF’s FY2021 snapshot splits CAR by region: Northeast-Midwest 10,826, South 43,771, West 9,064. The South held the largest CAR count in that year. “Reduced risk” in that report is a high bar: Firewise-or-equivalent, a mitigation ordinance, or high-priority fuels work in a CWPP. Only 3,267 CAR (5.1%) met it. 19,268 (30.3%) had a CWPP or equivalent. A plan on a shelf is not the reduced-risk test.
The paths
- Household floor. USFA and Ready.gov, regardless of whether your state adopted IWUIC.
- Community paper. A CWPP, a Firewise USA site, a local overlay. Ask the fire department which of those exist.
- Construction book. Only where adopted. No national WUI construction code.
What people mix up
- Treating “not California” as “not WUI.”
- Treating 63,661 communities as a permit trigger on one house.
- Treating a CWPP as the same thing as NASF’s reduced-risk count.
How to check
- Ask the fire department whether a CWPP, a Firewise site, or a WUI overlay exists.
- Open this site’s state construction-status guide when one exists.
- Walk the first five feet. The community count does not empty the gutter.
Limits
FY2021 is not FY2026. USFA’s “more than 60,000” and NASF’s 63,661 are the opened documents, not a live parcel feed. This page does not decide a permit.
Related records
Questions
If my state is not California or Oregon, is wildfire someone else’s problem?
USFA’s WUI page says WUI fires are not only a western-state problem. It cites more than 60,000 at-risk communities in the United States. Grass, brush, and forest fires next to houses are the same class of call in the East and Midwest.
Is “60,000 communities” a building code?
No. It is a community-count from USFA pointing at a National Association of State Foresters PDF. NASF’s FY2021 report counts 63,661 Communities At Risk. Neither number adopts IWUIC on your lot.
Does a Community At Risk count mean my town adopted Firewise or a WUI ordinance?
No. NASF’s FY2021 report defines reduced risk as Firewise-or-equivalent recognition, a mitigation ordinance, or fuels work tied to a CWPP. Coverage by a CWPP and “reduced risk” are separate tallies. Most CAR in that year were not in the reduced-risk count.
Can I look up my house on that national count?
No. USFA and NASF are community-scale. This site does not translate 63,661 into a parcel. Ask the fire department whether a CWPP or a local overlay exists.