What Deschutes County Homeowners Need to Know About Oregon's R327 Fire Safety Code

If your home is in a designated Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) area of Deschutes County — and many are — Oregon Residential Specialty Code Section R327 directly affects you. R327 is Oregon's statewide wildfire hazard mitigation standard for residential construction and major remodels in high fire hazard severity zones. It establishes minimum requirements for ignition-resistant building materials, covering everything from roofing and siding to vents, eaves, and decking. The intent is simple: make homes harder to ignite so they can survive ember showers and radiant heat even when firefighters cannot be on every doorstep.

Under R327, new construction and qualifying remodels in designated high-hazard zones must use Class A fire-rated roofing materials (such as metal, concrete tile, or Class A asphalt shingles), enclosed or boxed eaves, multi-pane or tempered glass windows, and ember-resistant vents with 1/16-inch corrosion-resistant mesh. Exterior siding must be noncombustible or ignition-resistant — fiber cement, brick, stone, or stucco all qualify. Decks and exterior stairs must be built from ignition-resistant materials. These aren't optional upgrades; for covered projects in WUI-designated areas, they are legally required components that must be verified during the permitting and inspection process.