Rio Rancho, NM Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

Rio Rancho sits between high-desert open land and the Rio Grande Bosque, both wildfire-prone, but the city has not adopted a mapped WUI overlay with mandatory ignition-resistant construction the way some Western states require. Instead, wildfire risk is managed through several existing tools. Chapter 93 (Fire Code and Burning Regulations) adopts New Mexico's minimum fire codes (the 2021 IFC, 10.25 NMAC) and restricts open burning to dry tumbleweeds on designated burn days only, banning trash and green-vegetation burning that produces heavy smoke. Open fires and fireworks are prohibited at all times in the Rio Grande Bosque. The nuisance code (Chapter 91) requires owners and tenants to keep weeds/grass under 12 inches and clear dead vegetation, reducing fuel loads, and the city runs a Weed Mitigation program along major roads. During extreme or severe drought, the city governing body (and Sandoval County) can proclaim fireworks restrictions under NMSA 60-2C-8.1 and Rio Rancho Fire and Rescue can declare a citywide burn ban, prohibiting outdoor weed burning and limiting open flame. These layered measures - not a formal fire-zone map - are how Rio Rancho addresses wildfire hazard, especially around the Bosque corridor.