A
brief summary of Taos County Open Burn Policy - See Ordinance 2023-4 for
details
Prohibitions:
It shall be unlawful to burn rubber, plastics,
synthetics, or petroleum products.
It shall be unlawful to burn refuse, garbage, solid
waste, or debris, whether indoors or outdoors, in
barrels or by other open fires. Including fireplaces,
stoves or other containers.
It shall be unlawful to leave any fire unattended by
any person.
It shall be unlawful to allow fire to escape or
spread from the control of the person setting such
fire or having charge thereof.
It shall be unlawful to to dispose of hot ashes in
any manner.
Permissible, so long as the burn does not
violate any burn restrictions and is conducted in a
safe manner and does not create a fire hazard:
Barbeque or cooking fires (including wood, charcoal,
propane or natural gas.)
Fireplace or woodstove fires.
Fires for branding cattle.
Fires for warming (small wood fires in containers at
homes or construction sites.)
Fires ignited by fire personnel in the official
discharge of their duties or for training purposes.
Welding and heating processes involving torches and
space heaters.
Recreational fires that are no larger than 3 feet in
diameter and have no more than a 3 foot flame length.
Open Burning Requiring a Permit:
Burning of grass, weeds, brush and other ground
cover.
Burning of piles of slash, trimmings, or other
natural vegetative material.
Burning of scrap wood (clean wood only, no wood with
chemical treatment.)
Prescribed fires for game or forest management
purposes.
Burning for recreational and/or ceremonial purposes
in appropriate site and/or containers.
Recreational fires that are larger than 3 feet in
diameter and have more than a 3 foot flame length.
Permits within Rio Fernando Fire District may
be applied for with RFFD (rffd@rffd.org or 751-1608)
or the Taos County Administrative Fire Chief.
Permits must be applied for a minimum of 48 hours
prior to the scheduled burn.
All fires must be attended at all times. No burns
shall be conducted without the presence of the
Permittee. The Burn Permit shall be kept on the
Permittees person at the burn site.
A water source such as a 5-gallon bucket filled with
water and/or garden hose and a hand tool such as a
shovel or rake or 5-pound fire extinguisher shall be
readily available at the time of ignition and
throughout the burn.
Permittees shall not burn any material within 300
feet of any residence or in the vicinity of any
structure, vehicle, fuel tank, live vegetation,
electrical wires, or watercourses.
All burning must start no earlier than 30 minutes
after sunrise and all burns must be extinguished 30
minutes prior to sunset.
The burn shall be conducted in such a way as to
avoid smoke obscuring visibility on nearby public
roads and avoids interference with the health of
nearby residents.
If local weather or fuel conditions create an
unacceptably high risk of an escape as judged by RFFD
or Taos County Fire Chief, the ignition or burn must
be halted.
