Fort Collins, CO Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Code adopted
- 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code
- Adopting ordinance
- Ord. No. 220, 2025, eff. 12-16-25
- WUI boundary source
- state CWRC Map, per amended § 302.1
- Authority Having Jurisdiction
- Fort Collins City Council
- Penalty
- civil infraction, § 1-15(f), per day
- New-addition exemption
- under 500 sq ft footprint growth
Summary
Fort Collins declares its wildfire hazard zones by adopting the state's 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code wholesale. Under § 5-370, the City Council is the authority having jurisdiction, and § 5-371's amended § 302.1 ties every wildland-urban interface boundary directly to the state's CWRC Map rather than a locally drawn line.
Pursuant to the power and authority conferred on the City Council by Colorado Revised Statutes Section 31-16-202 and Article II, Section 7 of the Charter, there is hereby adopted by reference as the wildfire resiliency code of the City, for the purposes of safeguarding life and property from intrusion of fire from wildland fire exposures and fire exposures from adjacent structures and mitigating structure fires from spreading to wildland fuels, the 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code, published by the Division of Fire Prevention and Control in the Colorado Department of Public Safety on June 1, 2025, and its referenced standards for the construction and maintenance of all property, buildings, and structures. ... 302.1 Declaration. The AHJ shall declare the wildland-urban interface areas within the jurisdiction as defined by this code. The wildland-urban interface areas shall be based on the CWRC Map.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 155 | Transitional Land Use Code (for project before May 17, 2024): Supplement 61 | Traffic Code: Supplement 27).
Full Breakdown
Article IX of Chapter 5, added by Ord. No. 220, 2025 and effective December 16, 2025, adopts by reference the 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code published by the Division of Fire Prevention and Control in the Colorado Department of Public Safety on June 1, 2025, making it controlling within the City except where locally amended (§ 5-370). 1 so the wildland-urban interface areas are declared based on the state's Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code Map (CWRC Map), maintained by the Division of Fire Prevention and Control and the Colorado State Forest Service.
1's exterior construction scope applies to new buildings within those declared WUI areas, subject to amended exceptions for accessory Group U buildings 50+ feet from habitable space, sheds under 120 square feet set back 10 feet, additions under 500 square feet measured against an April 1, 2026 baseline, and limited exterior wall or roof repairs affecting less than 25 percent of the surface. 9, but only if listed, eligible for, or contributing to a historic register or district, or locally designated.
Violations & Fines
Amended § C101.3.7 makes it a civil infraction, punishable under § 1-15(f) of the City Code, for anyone who violates the wildfire resiliency code, fails to comply with its requirements, or builds, alters or repairs in violation of approved construction documents, a code official's directive, or an issued permit; each day the violation continues is a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Fort Collins decide which areas are wildland-urban interface?
What code governs building in Fort Collins' wildfire zones?
Who is the Authority Having Jurisdiction under Fort Collins' wildfire code?
Is a small home addition exempt from the wildfire resiliency code?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fort Collins
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Wildfire Zones in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Larimer County handle wildfire zones.