Outdoor Burn Permits

Which burn permit do I need?

There are two types of burn permits for air quality purposes, the general Open Burn Permit and the state Smoke Management/Prescribed Fire Permit.

Open Burn Permit

Most often, this is the burn permit needed to conduct a non-exempt burn. These burn permits are issued by Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment and are free, but must meet the following criteria:

1. Only for private/residential purposes (not for land development or commercial purposes).
2. Amount to be burned:

• Broadcast Burns:
  • grass only, 10 acres or less
  • material other than grass (weeds, brush, etc.), 5 acres or less
• Pile Burns:
  • less than 1 ton of material every two weeks and not more than 50 tons per year
  • each pile must be 512 cubic feet (i.e., 8'x8'x8' pile) or less

If the purposed burn exceeds this criteria, you may need a Smoke Management/Prescribed Fire Permit.

You can Apply for an Open Burn Permit by:  

1. Submitting an electronic application through the Online Burn Permit portal. Be sure to only put in your property/house number AND the proper city. Select Weld as your city if the location is in unincorporated Weld County.
2. Submitting a paper application. Completed application can be emailed to burnpermits@weld.gov or mailed/hand delivered to WCDPHE Environmental Health Services at 1555 N 17th Ave, Greeley, CO 80631 (2nd floor).

Before you apply for an open burn permit, you need to know that:

1. Permits are valid for two weeks (14 days) from the date of issuance. If your burn permit has expired you must re-apply.
2. Permits do not relieve the applicant from complying with all relevant federal, state, and local rules and regulations.
3. Permittees are responsible for complying with all conditions of the burn permit in accordance with the state of Colorado Air Quality Control Commission rules and the Weld County Open Burning Permit Conditions.  
4. Applicants must be the listed property owner, caretaker/manager, or other representative who has permission to burn on the listed property.
5. Permit applications are processed during normal business hours and will not be issued on days with Red Flag Warnings for severe fire weather, or during air quality advisories issued by National Weather Service or the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
6. Permits will not be issued during formally declared burn bans as issued by the State of Colorado and/or the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.
7. Permits may be denied or rescinded at any time due to Red Flag Warnings and/or air quality advisories, declared burn bans, failure to comply with conditions of the permit, or due to the determination of any other authority having jurisdiction such as the local fire district, law enforcement agency, local municipality, etc.

You submitted an application, now what?

All automated email communications are sent via burnpermits@weld.gov. You may communicate directly by email to reach staff within our office who handle burn permitting or call the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment at (970) 400-6415.

PENDING status:  If the the application submittal was completed and received by our office then you should receive an email from burnpermits@weld.gov stating your application has been received (check your junk/spam folders). This means your application is pending and in line to be reviewed and processed.

This email may also include additional permits or permissions required by another agency. Permittees are responsible for complying with the rules and regulations of other agencies having jurisdiction.

INVESTIGATION NEEDED status: If there are questions or comments regarding your application from our office or from another agency, You will receive an email stating your application requires further investigation and we may include additional comments/questions. You may respond directly to the email from burnpermits@weld.gov.

APPROVED status: If your application was approved and a burn permit was issued an email will be sent with your burn permit number, expiration date, the fire department’s email address, and any important comments. Applicable rules and regulations will be attached. Permittees are responsible for following all rules and regulations regarding the Open Burn Permit.

DENIED status: If your application was not approved then you will be sent an email stating it was denied and the reasoning for denial. See the Why was my burn permit permit denied or blocked? section for common reasons for denial.

Smoke Management/Prescribed Fire Permits

Applicants seeking to conduct a non-exempt burn that exceeds the Open Burn Permit criteria, such as conducting the burn for commercial or other non-residential purpose (i.e., land development), may need to obtain a Smoke Management/ Prescribed Fire Permit.

These permits must be applied for through the State of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Air Pollution Control Division and are subject to more stringent rules and conditions, and the state’s processing and fee policies.

The reasons a burn permit application may be denied include, but are not limited to, the following:

ILLEGAL MATERIAL:  Anything other than natural wood or vegetative materials, or household clean paper or cardboard.

AMOUNT EXCEEDANCE:  If a pile burn, the pile size exceeds 512 cu ft and/or total amount to be burned exceeds 1 ton.  If a broadcast burn, the land area exceeds 10 acres of grass or 5 acres of vegetation if other than grass.

COMMERICAL or INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY:  The general burn permit does not allow for commercial waste disposal and commercial and industrial properties are not allowed to conduct open burning as a means of waste disposal without an approved incineration device or air curtain destroyer permitted through the state of Colorado’s Air Pollution Control Division in accordance with the State of Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission Regulations.

SUSTAINED RED FLAT WARNINGS and/or AIR QUALITY ADVISORIES:  If meteorological conditions are not conducive for burning, specifically triggering Red Flag Warnings or Air Quality Advisories to be continuously issued or forecasted for an extended amount of time by the National Weather Service and/or the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

DETERMINATION BY LOCAL FIRE AUTHORITIES OR ANOTHER AUTHORITY HAVING JURISDICTION such as a state agency, local municipality, law enforcement, etc.

PROPERTY IS RESTRICTED BY LOCAL ORDINANCE:  Properties within the boundaries of a municipality or fire district that has adopted a code placing a moratorium on open burning are blocked from submitting burn permit applications.

EXEMPTION: Burn meets an exemption and does not require an Open Burn Permit.

When am I not allowed to use the Open Burn Permit?

• During Red Flag Warnings issued by the National Weather Service.
• During Air Quality Advisories issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Air Pollution Control Division.
• Nighttime hours: Fires should not be ignited 2 hours prior to sundown and within 2 hours after sunrise. Fires must be out cold 30 minutes prior to sundown.
• Outside of the two weeks it is valid for:  Once your application is submitted you must wait for it to be processed and issued before it is deemed valid. Issued permits are good for 14 days. The last day to use is the expiration date listed on the permit.

Open Burn Permit rules include but are not limited to the following:

• The issued permit must be used prior to the expiration date.
• The issued permit is only valid for burning on the property/parcel listed on the permit.
• Permittee must notify the local fire authority and any other applicable local agency and comply with all fire protection and safety requirements from these agencies. This permit does not relieve any person conducting a permitted burn from meeting the requirements or restrictions of any other authority having jurisdiction.
• Only natural wood (i.e., tree trimmings, branches, etc.) and vegetative materials (i.e., leaves, weeds, natural fabrics, clean paper, clean cardboard, etc.) may be burned.
• Total amount to be burned under one burn permit shall not exceed 1 ton.
• Pile sizes shall not exceed 512 cubic feet or 8'x8'x8', and only one pile may be burned at a time.
• Broadcast burn areas can be no larger than 10 acres of grass or 5 acres of other vegetation.
• Burning in barrels is prohibited.
• Burn must be supervised by a responsible party with the capacity to implement fire suppression.
• Fire suppression must always be readily available during the burn.
• All burns shall be out cold prior to sunset.
• Full details on the State of Colorado Air Quality Control Commission and Air Pollution Control Division rules can be found on their Open Burning webpage.

In addition to the state rules, permittees are required to follow the following conditions for open burning:

1. The permit is to ensure compliance with State of Colorado Air Quality Control Commission Regulations, specifically Regulation 9 pertaining to Open Burning, Prescribed Fire, and Permitting (5 CCR 1001-11), hereby referred to as the Regulation, and does not supersede any state or local laws, including fire code. Permittees must follow any regulations, restrictions/bans, and obtain any additional permitting as required by any other authorities having jurisdiction such as local municipalities, fire districts, law enforcement, etc.
   
   
2. All Open Burn permits are suspended during the following periods: 1) Red Flag Warnings for severe fire weather, as issued by the National Weather Service; 2) High Pollution Advisory days, which can be found on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Colorado Open Burning Forecast webpage. It is the responsibility of the permit holder to verify weather and air quality status prior to burning. Permittees are expected to use all necessary precautions, which may include not burning, whenever meteorological conditions are less than favorable, such as any winds above 5 mph, when drought conditions are present, etc.
   
   
3. The permittee will make every attempt to notify the appropriate fire district or authority at the appropriate administrative number on each separate day they intend to burn. If the appropriate administration number for the fire district is not working or they cannot take the call permittees may contact Weld County dispatch at (970) 350-9600 to send notification to the respective fire authority. Please note, although dispatch may transmit notification the fire district is still the primary authority on burning.
   
   
4. At no time shall the burning material be left unattended. Burning shall be supervised by one or more responsible persons having permission to burn and with access and ability to apply adequate fire suppression as needed to control or extinguish the burn as necessary. Precautions should be taken to localize the burning and in no way constitute a fire hazard for people or property within or adjacent to the area of burning.
   
   
5. Commercially derived trash material will not be permitted to be burned. Trash materials from commercial farming operations, not covered under the “Agriculture Exemption,” will not be permitted to be burned. Burning on properties within Commercial or Industrial zones, or properties considered commercial where burning is in direct conflict with any other regulations or restrictions such as land use code, CDPHE permitting, etc. will not be permitted to burn.
   
   
6. Burning shall be restricted to the item(s), size(s)/amount(s), and location as indicated on the burn permit. All operations shall be subject to inspection by the Air Pollution Control Division and its representatives, such as Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment.
   
   
7. This permit shall be good for only 14 days from issuance; note the expiration date of the permit.
   
   
8. Open burning and smoke emissions are not allowed 2 hours before sunset and 2 hours after sunrise. Burns must be out “cold” 30 minutes prior to sundown.
   
   
9. The Open Burning Permit is issued with the condition that only legal materials such as natural wood and vegetative materials be burned, in accordance with the regulations. Burning illegal materials, like construction debris, trash, furniture, etc., releases toxic air pollutants that are harmful to public health and regional air quality.
   
   
10. The permit shall be retained and made available to any authority having jurisdiction by the permittee or responsible party during all burning activities.
    
    
11. The permittee, or representative, designated as the responsible party overseeing the burn shall abide by the conditions and restrictions contained herein. Any violations of these same conditions and restrictions may render this permit null and void and may result in enforcement action by the State of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
    
    
12. The granting authority and the employees or agents thereof, in the issuing of a permit, do not assume any responsibility or results in damage to the person or property of the permittee, or the person or property of any third person.

Red Flag Days

• National Weather Service

Air Quality Advisories

• Colorado Open Burning Forecast

Emergency Restrictions & Burn Bans

• Fire Restrictions