Manitou Springs, CO Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

030 sets the baseline, year-round rules that apply to every open fire and open burning inside city limits, which by the chapter's definitions covers fire pits, chimineas, portable fireplaces and campfires alike. The area within ten feet of the fire must be cleared of flammable vegetation or mowed to a very low height, and the fire itself must sit no less than fifteen feet from residences, barns, sheds, wooden fences and similar combustible structures. Every fireplace and pit must carry an appropriately sized spark or ember arrestor, and the total fuel area is capped at three feet in diameter with a flame height under two feet.

A means of extinguishing the fire has to be on hand and ready to deploy: at minimum a portable fire extinguisher rated at least 5 lb Type A, a garden hose with a sprayer attachment, or a five-gallon bucket of water with a shovel. An adult at least eighteen years old with a phone available to call 911 must attend the fire at all times, and burning refuse or yard debris is never allowed. 070, which can further restrict or fully prohibit fire pits depending on fire danger. 080.