Bethlehem, PA Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

Unlike California (Government Code Section 51178 / CCR Title 14 Sections 1280.00 et seq.) or western states, Pennsylvania does not impose statewide Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (WHSZ) mapping or defensible-space requirements. The Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code at 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401-405 adopts the 2018 International Building, Residential, Fire and Property Maintenance Codes for use throughout the Commonwealth, but Chapter 49 of the IFC ('Requirements for Wildland-Urban Interface Areas') and the companion International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC) have not been adopted at the state level. Bethlehem's local IFC amendments at Article 1501 Section 1501.05 do not adopt Chapter 49 either, and the Bethlehem Zoning Ordinance contains no Hillside Fire Safety overlay or wildfire-hazard mapping. The USDA Forest Service Wildfire Risk to Communities tool rates both Lehigh and Northampton Counties as low overall wildfire risk; the Lehigh Valley sits in the Appalachian Piedmont rather than fire-prone uplands. Pennsylvania DCNR mapping does show roughly 60 percent of homes statewide within the wildland-urban interface (WUI) planning boundary, but this is informational and does not trigger any building-code overlays. Property owners in Bethlehem should still observe the 25 Pa. Code Section 129.14 open-burning rules, the Article 1733 Section 302.4 12-inch vegetation rule, the absolute Article 1501 ban on recreational fires, and DCNR's Spring and Fall Fire Season advisories. New construction is permitted under the PA UCC with no wildfire-specific overlays.