WUI or what they call “Wildland Urban Interface” is a regulation that requires building products to comply with specific standards when used in the Wildland Urban Interface area as defined within the State of California building code.  For products to be used in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), there are some regulations that required building products to comply with specific standards.

The broad objective of the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area Building Standards are to establish minimum standards for materials and material assemblies and provide a reasonable level of exterior wildfire exposure protection for buildings in Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Areas. The use of ignition resistant materials are designed to resist the intrusion of flame or burning embers projected by a vegetation fire (wildfire exposure) can prove to be the most prudent effort California has made to try and mitigate the losses resulting from our repeating cycle of interface fire disasters.

Thermally modified wood products are making inroads in the area of WUI as the product itself has been altered by man made alterations by utilizing heat an steam in a controlled and enclosed chamber to change the natural chemical makeup of the wood cell structure. Due to this process the wood becomes much more resistant to flame spread thus decreasing the rate of which flames can start and then spread throughout building structures during a wildfire.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) along with the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) with local government has responsibility for wildland fire protection.