Wildland-urban interface in Colorado: Perceptions and messaging for a statewide building code

To inform Colorado’s code development process, Headwaters Economics partnered with the University of Colorado Denver’s Center for Community Safety and Resilience to assess what the barriers to statewide adoption might be and how policy design and communications strategies could help overcome them. Updates and the results were shared with the code board during their regular meetings. The research analyzed views expressed by 86 individuals representing stakeholders from construction, real estate, utilities, local government, and fire services. The findings indicated support for wildfire risk reduction in communities along with several key concerns about the potential code implementation. The analysis helped support Colorado’s evidence-based approach and offers insights for other states considering the adoption of a wildfire building code.

Key takeaways for policymakers, include:

• Fire and local government professionals were among those most supportive of a statewide WUI Code
• Private sector opinions were split, but tailored messaging helped build support
• Core code components, including construction standards and road widths, were generally supported
• Uncertainty about code impacts and local autonomy were key concerns