Yakima, WA Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

Yakima Municipal Code Chapter 11.40 (Property Maintenance Code) was adopted by the Yakima City Council in March 2024 and incorporates the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) with local amendments. The Yakima amendment defines 'hazardous vegetation' as vegetation that is dry and combustible exceeding twelve inches in height which may cause a fire hazard to the immediate and surrounding areas; the definition expressly includes trees, shrubs, grass, weeds, bushes, vines and other plant materials, including clippings, fallen leaves, or branches. YMC 11.40 then provides that premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from hazardous vegetation in excess of 12 inches in height. Upon failure of the owner or agent in charge of a property to cut and destroy such vegetation after service of a notice of violation, they shall be subject to prosecution in accordance with IPMC Section 106.3 and as prescribed by the authority having jurisdiction. The City of Yakima Code Compliance Division administers YMC 11.40 and works alongside Yakima Fire Department to address combustible brush near structures, particularly along the foothills west of the city where the lower edge of Yakima County's Wildland-Urban Interface meets developed neighborhoods. The state has not yet effectively adopted the 2021 Washington Wildland-Urban Interface Code (WAWUIC) - Senate Bill 6120 and an emergency rule by the Washington State Building Code Council delayed implementation pending publication of new statewide DNR wildfire-hazard and wildfire-risk maps under RCW 19.27.560 - so Yakima continues to rely on YMC 11.40 (and the related Yakima County WUI provisions in YCC Chapter 13.10) rather than a stand-alone defensible-space ordinance.