The High Risk Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) layer was created by identifying areas with a Structures Exposures Score (SES) of 7 or greater and a minimum of two structures located within a 250 meter (820 foot) radius.

The High Risk Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) dataset defines geographical areas across the state where human development, structures, and infrastructure meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland vegetation and where fuels and ember loads in combination with structure density and historic fire occurrence indicate high risk. This mapping is created specifically to identify and prioritize structures most susceptible to the devastating impacts of wildfire, where property owners can be informed of how to reduce their wildfire risk.

The primary purpose of the High Risk WUI boundary is to guide critical risk assessment and to facilitate compliance with Utah law. This boundary identifies structures that will be assessed a fee under Utah’s High Risk WUI Property Program and is required for use by casualty and property insurers when labeling a property as “high risk wildland urban interface”. It directly supports public education, guides mitigation efforts, and facilitates implementation of defensible space and home hardening using National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) guidelines.

The dataset is derived from a combination of analytical inputs, including satellite imagery, slope and aspect data (topography), detailed FFSL vegetation type and fuelscape maps, weather, fire occurrence, ember loading, housing density metrics and buffers around existing structures. The resulting boundaries provide a standardized, data-driven layer for all land ownerships to effectively plan for and adapt to Utah's unique wildfire risk landscape.