Boulder County, CO Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Ordinance 2023-1 defines an "Open Fire" broadly: campfires, warming fires, charcoal grill fires, wood pellet grills, wood-burning stoves, welding, blasting, firearms discharge, and fireworks of any kind all count, though safety flares are excluded. Under Section II, the Board of County Commissioners or the Boulder County Sheriff can declare an Open Fire ban countywide or in specific areas whenever wildfire danger is high, without a hearing. Once High Danger Conditions exist, meaning an active National Weather Service Fire Weather Watch, Red Flag Warning, High Wind Watch, or High Wind Warning, no one may create or maintain a spark, flame, or other ignition source outdoors, and selling or using fireworks is also banned.

Anyone planning to burn must check NWS alerts first; agricultural burning is exempt from a declared ban but not from the High Danger Conditions restriction. Separately, Section III requires anyone conducting non-agricultural open burning, such as slash or brush pile burning, to hold a Sheriff-issued permit and to notify the Sheriff's Office before lighting the fire, a notice requirement that applies even to exempt agricultural burns. Rubbish, defined to include construction debris, tires, and abandoned vehicles, may never be burned outdoors, regardless of any ban.

§ 30-15-402. Anyone who violates the ordinance and triggers a fire-department or Sheriff response must also reimburse that agency's costs. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office enforces the ordinance countywide in unincorporated areas, and all fines are paid into the county's General Fund.