Corvallis, OR Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted standard
- IWUIC Sections 603 and 604
- Trigger
- OSFM HIGH or EXTREME wildfire rating
- Applies to
- existing and new structures alike
- Maintenance duty
- owner or authorized agent
- Enforcing office
- Corvallis Fire Chief
- Penalty
- Class C Misdemeanor, up to $500/30 days
Summary
The City of Corvallis Fire Code adopts the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, Sections 603 and 604, as its Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) rules under Corvallis Municipal Code Section 7.08.135. The code applies wherever the Oregon State Fire Marshal has rated a parcel HIGH or EXTREME wildfire risk, reaches existing buildings as well as new construction, and puts maintenance of required safeguards on the property owner.
1)101.1 Title. These regulations, IWUIC sections 603 and 604, known as the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Code of the City of Corvallis, based upon the state's most recently adopted version of the IWUIC, and referred to in this Section as this code. ... 3)101.3.1 Purpose. The purpose of this code is to establish minimum regulations consistent with nationally recognized good practice for the safeguarding of life and for property protection. Regulations in this code are intended to mitigate the risk to life and structures from intrusion of fire from wildland fire exposures and fire exposures from adjacent structures and to mitigate structure fires from spreading to wildland fuels. ... 4)101.4.1 Retroactivity. The provisions of the code apply to current and existing conditions within the WUI identified by an Oregon State Fire Marshal recognized resource, identifying a wildfire risk classification of "HIGH or EXTREME".
Full Breakdown
Section 7.08.135 states the purpose is to establish minimum regulations consistent with nationally recognized good practice for safeguarding life and protecting property, mitigating the risk that wildland fire intrudes on structures and that structure fires spread back into wildland fuels. The city ties the regulation's reach directly to state hazard mapping: under 101.4.1 Retroactivity, the WUI rules apply to current and existing conditions within any area the Oregon State Fire Marshal's recognized resource has classified HIGH or EXTREME for wildfire risk, so a property built long before the ordinance is covered the moment its parcel is mapped into that classification.
Section 101.5.1 Maintenance places the ongoing duty on the property: buildings, structures, landscape materials, vegetation, defensible space, and other required safeguards must be kept in conformance with the code, and that duty falls on the owner or the owner's authorized agent, not the City. The WUI standard works alongside the separate vegetation-clearance duty in Section 7.08.120, which requires cutting and removing weeds, grass, and vines capable of easily igniting on any lot, with the stricter IWUIC 603/604 clearance standard layered on top in the mapped HIGH or EXTREME zones.
The Corvallis Fire Chief administers and enforces the WUI code as part of the Corvallis Fire Code, Chapter 7.08, last readopted in whole by Ord. 2023-17 on May 15, 2023.
Violations & Fines
A WUI violation is enforced the same as any other Corvallis Fire Code breach under Section 7.08.080: it is a Class C Misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to 30 days in jail, or both, with each day the condition continues charged as a separate offense. The Fire Chief can also abate the hazard directly and bill the owner for cleanup costs under Section 111, and unpaid abatement costs become a lien against the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Corvallis have its own wildfire risk zone rule?
Who decides whether my Corvallis property sits in a high wildfire risk zone?
Does the WUI ordinance apply to houses built before it existed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Corvallis
Compare Corvallis to another location·View the Oregon fire regulations overview
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