Fire Restrictions

Fire restriction information

No Fire Restrictions Graphic

During periods of high/extreme fire danger, Douglas County and the Town of Castle Rock will enact fire restrictions. For updates on fire restrictions and other Town news, sign up for notifications.

There are presently no fire restrictions in effect. For information on the restriction levels that may be enacted during times of elevated fire danger, see below.

Stage 1


Stage 1 fire restrictions shall mean:
  1. No building, maintaining, attending or using an open fire* (, including fireworks,), campfire or stove fire (a stove fire is defined as a campfire built inside an enclosed stove or grill, portable brazier or a pressurized liquid or gas stove, including a space-heating device) without a permit. The following actions are permitted: petroleum-fueled stoves, lanterns or heating devices, provided that such devices meet the fire underwriter's specifications for safety.
  2. No smoking unless in an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three (3) feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material. Open discarding of smoking materials is a violation of the restrictions and the International Fire Code Section 310.7. 
  3. Prohibiting welding or the operation of torches with open flame in outdoor areas, including public parks, greenbelts and trail systems, without a permit. 
  4. Prohibiting the operation or use of any internal or external combustion engine without a spark-arresting device properly installed, maintained and in effective working order. 
Allowable activities include: 
  1. Permitted fires. Persons with a permit specifically authorizing the prohibited act or omission. Permits can be obtained at the Fire Department. 
  2. Gas grills. Fires contained within liquid-fueled or gas-fueled stoves, fireplaces within buildings and fires in wood-burning stoves. 
  3. Explosive waste. Burning of explosive wastes by the manufacturer of explosives in areas zoned for industrial use, when the burning is supervised by a fire protection district. 
  4. Suppression fires. Any federal, state or local officer or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty. 
  5. Small recreational fires. Except when fire restrictions have been elevated to Stage 2, the following shall be exempt from the prohibitions: small recreational fires at developed picnic or campground sites contained in permanent fire pits or fire grates, with flame lengths not in excess of four (4) feet or the residential use of charcoal grills, fires in chimineas or other portable fireplaces or patio fire pits, so long as said fires are supervised by a responsible party at least twenty-one (21) years of age. Small recreational fires shall in no event be construed to include fireworks as defined in Chapter 8.24. 
  6. Smoking. Smoking on private property. 
*Open fire or open burning shall mean any outdoor fire, including, but not limited to, campfires, warming fires, the lighting of any fused explosives and fireworks of any kind or brand, the lighting of model rockets and the burning of fence lines or rows, fields, farm lands, range lands, wildlands, trash and debris.

Stage 2

Stage 2 restrictions shall mean the inclusion of all Stage 1 restrictions, and add the following conditions: 
  1. No open burning of any kind. 
  2. No use or sale** of fireworks (, including professional displays). 
  3. No use of charcoal grills and fires in chimineas, other portable fireplaces or patio fire pits. 
  4. No campfires at developed campgrounds or picnic areas. 
Allowable activities:
  1. Cooking on gas- or liquid-fueled stoves or grills. 
  2. Persons with permits specifically authorizing the prohibited act or omission. 
**The sale of permissible fireworks is allowed under Stage 1 restrictions, but not under Stage 2 restrictions.

For more details, view additional information. Visit the municipal code page to learn more about Town codes and ordinances.