La Plata County, CO Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

The La Plata County Code has no year-round fireworks ban. Fireworks are handled inside Section 34-1, Open Fire Bans, in Chapter 34, Fire Prevention and Protection. The definitions in subsection II say fireworks are defined as set forth in C.R.S. § 24-33.5-2001(5)(a), so the county borrows the state definition instead of writing its own.

The restriction on fireworks arrives through the declaration process in subsection V. The Board of County Commissioners, the sheriff or the sheriff's designee can declare fire restrictions by resolution in all or part of the unincorporated county when there is competent evidence of high fire danger. Those restrictions can include a prohibition on the use and sale of fireworks. The resolution follows consultation with the local fire chiefs and the fire management officers of local federal agencies, and it must state an express finding that fire danger is high. In unincorporated La Plata County, a fireworks ban therefore exists only while a declared resolution is in force, so check whether the sheriff or the board has issued one before buying or using anything.

Subsection IV is a standing rule with no declaration needed: the use or release of a sky lantern into the airspace of La Plata County is prohibited. The code defines a sky lantern as an unmanned luminary device, including sky lanterns, fire balloons, acetylene balloons or similar devices made of paper, fabric, plastic or any other material, that traps heated air produced by an attached heat source that lofts the device.

Section 34-1 also states why the rules exist. Unincorporated areas of the county carry a significant risk of wildland fires, particularly along the wildland-urban interface, and catastrophic wildfires cost the community through property losses, decreased tourism, suppression costs and increased insurance premiums. Federal and tribal trust lands within the unincorporated areas are exempt from the fire restrictions imposed under the section, and the city and town limits of Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio are outside the county's reach.

The section was last amended by Ord. No. 2023-1 and is effective 8/13/2023.