Mesa County, CO Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

07(C)(1). Zone 1 wraps the primary structure: 30 feet on slopes under 30 percent, 45 feet to the sides/up-slope and 60 feet down-slope on 30-55 percent slopes, and 60 feet to the sides/up-slope and 120 feet down-slope on slopes over 55 percent, never crossing the property line. Zone 1 splits into Segment A, the five feet touching the structure, where all vegetation must be stripped at initial construction and combustible-sided homes may not replant, and Segment B, the remainder of Zone 1 out to its outer boundary.

07(C)(1)(a)(2) is the operative brush-clearance rule for Segment B: at initial construction, brush and tree clumps must be thinned so the gap between crowns is at least twice the height of the taller clump, no clump may be wider than twice its own height, and all thinned material must be hauled off the lot. Remaining limbs must be pruned to ten feet above grade or half the plant's total height, whichever is lower, with pruned debris also removed. Propane tanks and firewood may sit in Segment B but never within 20 feet of the structure, and only on gravel pads clear of grass.

No dead trees or dead vegetation may remain anywhere in Zone 1 at initial construction. 04 gives the County power to withhold permits, stop work, or seek an injunction for an uncorrected violation.