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Huerfano County proposes changes to fire code, removes burn-barrel exemption and raises fines
Summary
At its Sept. 23 meeting the Huerfano County Board of Commissioners introduced updates to Chapter 10 (Fire Code) as Ordinance 2025-02 that remove an exemption for permanent burn barrels and raise civil fines; commissioners approved the updates and staff said the ordinance will return for final adoption after public notice.
The Huerfano County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 23 voted to approve updates to Ordinance 2025-02, a proposed amendment to Chapter 10 of the county code that revises definitions, raises civil fines for fire-code violations and removes a previously stated exemption for permanently constructed burn barrels.
County staff, presenting the item, said the amendment adds a clarifying section that the chapter is adopted by ordinance to simplify future revisions and standardizes definitions. On restrictions during Stage 1 fire conditions, staff said the update will “remove the exemption for permanently constructed burn barrels, which are illegal for by state and federal law.” Staff added that some local fire districts disagree with state and federal agencies about the classification of those burn barrels.
The proposal raises the civil fine for a first violation from $50 to $250 and for a second violation from $250 to $500. When a commissioner asked what happens if a resident cannot afford a fine, staff said the matter would be presented to a judge: “the judge has the ability to do something different,” staff said.
Commissioners approved the updates on the motion before the board. County staff said the changes will be published in the legal notices and that the ordinance will return to the board for final adoption in about three weeks.
No final adoption vote was recorded at the Sept. 23 session; the board approved the updates to proceed to the required public-notice and final-adoption steps.
(Reporting note: wording in the transcript identified the item as “Order number 2025-02.” The board and staff referred to amendments to Chapter 10, described in the meeting as the county’s fire code.)
