Two wildfire maps, two different fights
In 2026, a Colorado mountain homeowner can be judged by two completely different wildfire maps in the same month — and confusing them leads people to fight the wrong battle. The state’s own Division of Insurance felt compelled to say it plainly (DOI, Wildfire Resiliency Building Codes and Insurance):
“The map created by the WRCB is for the application of the 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (Code) only. It is not intended for insurance purposes.”
Map #1: the code map (state/local government)
Drawn by the Wildfire Resiliency Code Board and adopted — sometimes with local changes — by each WUI jurisdiction. It decides building rules: whether the CWRC applies to your new build, addition, reroof, or residing. It’s public, it’s on your county’s website, and you can look your parcel up today.
Being on this map does not change your premium. It changes what your next building permit requires.
Map #2: your insurer’s risk model (private, per-company)
Each insurer scores your property with its own model — “insurance companies use their own tools, methodologies, and maps,” in DOI’s words. Different companies can give the same house different scores. This map decides pricing, renewal, and surcharges.
What changed on July 1, 2026: this map is no longer a black box. Under HB25-1182, your insurer owes you the score annually in writing, an explanation of why, the impact mitigation would have, and an appeal path with deadlines.
Which fight is yours?
| Your situation | The map that matters | Your move |
|---|---|---|
| Premium jumped / non-renewed | Insurer’s model | Get the written score, mitigate what it names, request a re-score (30-day clock), appeal with evidence |
| Planning a reroof, siding job, or addition | Code map | Check the adopted WUI map at your building department; get the 25%-trigger question answered in the bid |
| Building or buying new in the foothills | Both | Code sets the build requirements; the insurer scores the finished product — build once to satisfy both |
| Doing defensible space this season | Both, happily | The same documented work moves the score, satisfies the code’s zone rules, and can qualify for the tax credit and county cost-share money |
The good news buried in the confusion
Both maps reward the identical physical work: a hardened structure and real defensible space. You don’t need two projects — you need one project, documented well enough to show a code official, an underwriter, and a cost-share program. That documentation habit is the cheapest thing on this page, and the form below reaches contractors who treat the paperwork as part of the job.