Erie, PA does not have a city-designated Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone. Pennsylvania has not adopted IFC Chapter 49 (Requirements for Wildland-Urban Interface Areas) statewide, and Erie has not adopted it locally through Article 1503. Erie County is rated low overall wildfire risk by the USDA Forest Service, though approximately 60 percent of Pennsylvania homes statewide sit within the wildland-urban interface boundary mapped by DCNR.
Unlike California (Government Code Section 51178 / CCR Title 14 Sections 1280.00 et seq.) or other 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 IFC and IBC for use across 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. Erie's local IFC adoption at Article 1503 does not add Chapter 49 either, and there are no Hillside Fire Safety overlays in the Erie Zoning Code (Articles in eCode360 Title 4). The USDA Forest Service Wildfire Risk to Communities tool rates Erie County's overall wildfire risk as low, although Pennsylvania DCNR's mapping shows that close to 60 percent of homes statewide are within the wildland-urban interface (WUI) boundary - a planning category, not a regulatory zone. Erie property owners should still observe the 25 Pa. Code Section 129.14 open-burning rules, the city's 10-inch vegetation height limit, and the Pennsylvania DCNR Spring and Fall Fire Season advisories. New construction in Erie is permitted under the PA Uniform Construction Code with no wildfire-specific overlays.
Because there is no adopted WHSZ in Erie or Pennsylvania broadly, there are no wildfire-zone-specific violations or fines. Underlying open-burning, vegetation, and IFC requirements are still enforced by the Erie Bureau of Fire and Code Enforcement, and PADEP can assess civil penalties up to $25,000 per day under the Air Pollution Control Act for unauthorized burning during high-risk periods.
Erie, PA
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See how Erie's wildfire zones rules stack up against other locations.
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