Fire Regulations in Colorado (2026)

Boulder bans mobile and portable outdoor fireplaces, the store-bought steel bowl or basket fire pit, everywhere in the…

Denver requires a written open burning permit for backyard fires, including fire pits and chimineas, unless the device…

Small backyard recreational fires are allowed when kept under 3 ft by 2 ft and 25 feet from anything flammable, but are…

Arvada lets residents build a recreational fire, including a charcoal grill, barbeque pit, or fire pit, without a…

Backyard fires, campfires and warming fires are "Open Fires" under county ordinance and are allowed only when no fire…

Manufactured fire pits, chimineas, and outdoor fireplaces used for backyard cooking or warming with gas, charcoal, or…

Recreational fire pits are permitted in Centennial when no burn ban is in effect. Fire pits must not exceed 3 feet in…

A backyard recreational fire (any outdoor fire or campfire not contained in a portable or fixed appliance) is allowed…

When no fire restrictions are in effect, residential patio fire pits, chimineas and portable fireplaces are allowed if…

Fort Collins regulates fire pits and outdoor fireplaces under a 2024 International Fire Code amendment, City Code §…

Fountain caps backyard recreational fires and fire pits at three feet in diameter and two feet in height under Section…

Greeley lets you skip a burn permit for a fire pit or chiminea if it sits at least 15 feet from any structure, is…

When Lakewood, Colorado's City Manager declares a Stage I fire restriction, portable outdoor fireplaces and contained…

Recreational fire pits, fireplaces and chimineas using clean, dry wood or charcoal are exempt from the county open-burn…

Littleton defines a lawful recreational fire, including a fire pit, as one with a fuel area no more than 3 feet across…

Manitou Springs allows fire pits and recreational fires under Municipal Code Section 6.34.030, but every open fire…

Thornton lets small contained fire pits, chimineas and outdoor fireplaces skip the Open Burning permit if the fuel area…

A recreational cooking fire in a contained fireplace, a manufactured portable fire pit or a chiminea needs no open-burn…

Pueblo's open-burning ban does not apply to recreational fires or to portable outdoor fireplaces used the way the…

Colorado defines permissible fireworks under CRS 12-28-101 and bans all aerial and explosive consumer devices…

Adams County bans possessing, manufacturing, storing, selling, handling or using fireworks anywhere in the…

Arvada bans possessing, manufacturing, storing, selling, handling, or using fireworks citywide except as the…

Boulder outlaws fireworks outright: Section 5-6-6 bans possessing, manufacturing, storing, selling, or using any…

Fireworks are illegal in Colorado Springs. All types of fireworks with a fuse and/or requiring a flame for ignition are…

Denver treats fireworks as an explosive device: igniting, discharging, or detonating them anywhere in the city is…

Fort Collins bans nearly all fireworks under a 2024 International Fire Code amendment, City Code § 9-2, adopting…

Using, exploding or selling fireworks anywhere in Lakewood, Colorado is unlawful under Municipal Code Ch. 5.20, with…

Littleton bans possessing, manufacturing, storing, selling, handling or using fireworks anywhere in the city under City…

Pueblo bans possessing, selling or using fireworks citywide; only a narrow class of novelty items the code excludes…

Fireworks stands are banned from residential zoning districts in unincorporated Arapahoe County and can't operate…

Aurora allows only narrowly defined "permissible fireworks", no aerial or audible devices, and only from June 15…

Greeley bans fireworks generally, allowing only small "permissible fireworks" for people 16 and older and permitted…

Unincorporated Jefferson County has no year-round fireworks sale ban, but the Sheriff or Board of County Commissioners…

Longmont bans discharging any fireworks on city streets, alleys, sidewalks, parks or other city property without a…

Loveland bans nearly all fireworks under its 2024 International Fire Code amendments. Only state-defined "permissible…

Under Ordinance 2023-1, the Board or Sheriff can ban all open fires including the sale and use of fireworks. During any…

Castle Rock allows only Colorado 'permissible' (ground-based) fireworks, and only on July 4 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m…

Colorado allows only non-aerial, non-explosive "permissible fireworks" (fountains, sparklers, ground spinners). All…

El Paso County limits fireworks sales to May 31 through July 6 each year and requires fire department approval, a…

Only non-aerial, non-explosive "permissible fireworks" are legal in Colorado. Aerial devices, firecrackers, Roman…

In Colorado Springs' wildland urban interface risk areas, the Wildfire Resiliency Requirements (Fire Code Appendix K…

Boulder requires new buildings in mapped wildland-urban interface areas to clear fuel out to the distance set in…

In Wildfire Zone 1 (West County) and Wildfire Zone 2 (East County), Boulder County requires full defensible space…

Castle Rock urges creating defensible space by removing shrubs and trees within 0-5 feet of the home, keeping flammable…

When a Wildland Fire and Hazard Mitigation Plan requires a fuel modification area, El Paso County's Land Development…

Jefferson County requires wildfire-defensible space around foothills homes. Zone 1 (0–5 feet) must have no combustible…

Larimer County's Wildfire Resiliency Code requires defensible space around structures, organized into ignition zones…

In unincorporated Mesa County, new homes built on wooded or brush-covered land must thin vegetation in defensible-space…

Weld County has no wildfire defensible-space clearance mandate for the high plains. What state law does require is weed…

Colorado requires permits for most open burning under CRS 25-7-123 and Air Quality Control Commission Regulation 9…

Open fires, including campfires, are unlawful across every Adams County park, trail and open space area under…

Boulder bans open burning of trash, brush, and wood citywide. Fire Code § 307(1), reenacted at BRC 10-8-2(b)(13), makes…

Centennial prohibits burning of trash, rubbish, construction materials, yard debris, leaves, or recyclable materials at…

Open burning is never allowed by non-governmental entities within the Colorado Springs city limits. Burning trash…

Arvada's Article III fire-restrictions ordinance makes it unlawful to build, maintain, attend, or use a recreational or…

Aurora bans burning combustible refuse in unapproved incinerators and treats open burning the same way -- violators…

Boulder County bans all open fires, including campfires, charcoal grills, and wood pellet grills, whenever the Sheriff…

Denver prohibits open burning citywide unless the Department of Public Health and Environment issues a written burn…

El Paso County bans burning rubbish, waste paper, wood, or other flammable material on any lot, road, or alley unless…

Fort Collins bans open burning and undesignated open fires citywide at all times under City Code § 9-23, with limited…

Fountain bans backyard trash burning outright and lets the fire chief declare a stage-based open fire ban citywide…

Greeley outlaws burning refuse, weeds, tires and other flammable material anywhere in the city unless the fire…

In Lakewood, Colorado, burning rubbish or debris is always unlawful, and any Open Burning larger than a recreational…

Longmont bans operating solid fuel-fired heating devices, wood stoves, fireplaces, pellet stoves, on days the state…

Loveland prohibits open burning whenever atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make a fire hazardous, and bans…

Manitou Springs' Fire Chief declares Stage I Fire Restrictions or a Stage II Fire Ban under Municipal Code Chapter 6.34…

Pueblo bans burning rubbish, trash, wood or other combustible material on any property or adjacent street or alley, and…

Kindling or maintaining any open fire in Thornton is unlawful without a fire code official's Open Burning permit under…

Nearly all open burning in Westminster requires a permit from the Westminster Fire Department under Code Section 8-6-1…

Open burning within Castle Rock requires a written permit from the Fire Department, except contained backyard cooking…

Open burning of wood, vegetation or slash requires a permit from your local fire protection district, and all open…

Open burning in unincorporated Jeffco requires an Open Burn Permit from Jefferson County Public Health, issued only for…

You must obtain an open-burn permit from your fire protection district or the Sheriff's Office (plus an air-quality…

Littleton bans burning rubbish, wastepaper, wood or other flammable material on any premises, street or alley without a…

Open burning in unincorporated Weld County requires a free permit from the Department of Public Health and Environment…

Colorado's Wildfire Resiliency Code Board, created by SB23-166 and codified at C.R.S. 24-33.5-1236, adopts minimum…

Large portions of western and northern Colorado Springs fall in Very High and Extreme wildfire hazard zones under the…

El Paso County enforces Wildland-Urban Interface defensible space requirements following the Waldo Canyon (2012) and…

Douglas County's Wildfire Hazard Overlay District covers unincorporated land the county has mapped as wildfire-prone…

Fort Collins declares its wildfire hazard zones by adopting the state's 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code…

Adams County adopted the 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code by Ordinance No. 14, effective May 15, 2026, declaring…

Arapahoe County's western foothills and Cherry Creek drainage are in designated Wildland-Urban Interface zones…

Arvada may have wildfire hazard zones requiring defensible space around structures, fire-resistant building materials…

Boulder maps every parcel into a wildland-urban interface fire hazard class under Wildland Code Section 502.1, and any…

Unincorporated Boulder County is divided into three Wildfire Zones. Building or expanding in Zone 1 (West County) or…

Castle Rock sits in the wildland-urban interface of the Front Range and applies home ignition zones extending 100 feet…

Centennial designates wildfire hazard areas using the statewide CWRC Map, and any construction within those zones must…

Greeley adopted the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code in 2026 and must map Wildfire-Urban Interface areas and fire…

Unincorporated Jefferson County runs on the 2018 International Fire Code as its minimum fire safety standard, adopted…

Because of its wildfire history (Cameron Peak and High Park fires), Larimer County declares ALL unincorporated land a…

Littleton only applies its adopted 2024 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code to parcels the state's current…

Longmont adopted the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code and directs the Chief Fire Marshal to map the city's…

Loveland's Unified Development Code designates a Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Overlay Zone under UDC § 18.02.10.01…

Manitou Springs' Fire Department has mapped the entire city as being at wildfire risk, but the Wildfire Mitigation…

Mesa County's Land Development Code lays out a two-zone defensible-space system for new homes built on wooded or…

Thornton may have wildfire hazard zones requiring defensible space around structures, fire-resistant building…

Starting July 1, 2026, Weld County enforces Colorado's 2025 Wildfire Resiliency Code on every unincorporated parcel the…

Westminster may have wildfire hazard zones requiring defensible space around structures, fire-resistant building…

Boulder's Property Maintenance Code requires the owner or agent to check hardwired smoke alarms once a year and test…

Smoke alarms must be installed inside each bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level including the…

Colorado Springs' amended Fire Code requires existing Group I-1 (institutional care) and Group R (residential)…

Every licensed Denver residential rental property must have a functioning smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, and…

Douglas County enforces the adopted International Residential and Fire Codes, which require smoke alarms in each…

El Paso County requires every guest room in a licensed bed and breakfast home to have its own smoke detector, on top of…

Fort Collins requires listed smoke alarms meeting UL 217 in dwellings under a 2024 International Fire Code amendment…

Fountain requires single- and multiple-station smoke alarms installed per International Fire Code section 907.2.11, the…

Greeley's electrical code lets the city order smoke detectors and other life-safety systems in existing buildings…

Every licensed short-term rental in Lakewood must have operable smoke detectors in each sleeping room and outside each…

Littleton makes it unlawful to operate a short-term rental without a working smoke detector on the licensed premises…

Loveland's adopted Residential Code requires smoke alarms in every dwelling unit, and the city's local amendment at…

Manitou Springs requires a smoke detector installed per NFPA 74 in each sleeping area on every level of a dwelling…

Pueblo requires bed and breakfast homes to have working smoke alarms on every floor, verified through periodic Fire…

Thornton's amended Residential Code requires smoke alarms to run on the building's commercial wiring with a 10-year…

Smoke alarms are required by the building code Weld County adopts (2018 International Residential Code). Colorado law…

Westminster's building code requires listed smoke alarms in every building it regulates, installed to UL 217 and NFPA…

Colorado adopts NFPA 58 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code by reference under CRS 8-20-232, applying uniform propane storage…

Arvada caps liquefied petroleum gas storage under Fire Code Section 42-91: the aggregate water capacity of any one…

Boulder requires a construction permit before anyone installs an LP-gas (propane) system in the city, with the fire…

Propane/LP-gas tanks in unincorporated Boulder County follow the adopted 2021 International Fire Code. Tanks up to 500…

Colorado Springs' amended Fire Code requires an operational permit before storing or using LP-gas once a single…

El Paso County requires propane tanks and other combustible liquids storage on land in Wildland Fire Areas to conform…

Fort Collins caps liquefied petroleum gas storage at 2,000 gallons per installation within the district limits set by…

Greeley caps home propane for grills, RVs and other recreational use at 10-gallon portable containers, with total…

Longmont requires an operational fire permit before storing or using LP-gas containers with a combined individual water…

Loveland caps aggregate LP-gas (propane) storage at whatever limit is set by city ordinance or zoning regulation, but…

New homes built in Mesa County's wooded or brush-covered wildfire hazard areas can't store an above-ground propane tank…

Weld County follows the adopted International Fire Code and NFPA 58 for LP-gas tanks. Its design criteria specify that…