Doña Ana County, NM Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 195-3A(9) of the County Code amends International Fire Code § 105.6.32 for the unincorporated County. Any open burning of vegetative material, defined to cover untreated yard trimmings, brush, and clean wood waste, must take place no less than 300 feet from any structure with an extinguishing agent on hand. Open burning that becomes offensive from smoke, or that the State Air Quality Bureau or hazardous atmospheric conditions make dangerous, is prohibited outright, as is burning trash, tires, plastics, rubbish, or other paper products under any circumstances. Timing is fixed too: no burning after dark, and every burn must start no earlier than one hour after sunrise and be out no later than one hour before sunset.

Before lighting anything, residents must call the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority's nonemergency line, (575) 526-0795, to confirm burning is allowed that day, and must call again both when the burn starts and when it's finished. Penalties escalate with a violator's history and cooperation: a first-time violator who cooperates faces up to $100, one who doesn't cooperate faces up to $200; repeat violators face up to $500 if cooperative and up to $1,000 if not, and total field-citation penalties can reach $1,000 per day up to a $15,000 cap. The officer issuing a citation weighs the seriousness of the violation and any good-faith compliance effort under NMAC § 20.2.90.111 in setting the fine within those ranges.