Open burn small pile/slash permits are for 50 or fewer piles to burn in the current calendar* year and each pile is small enough that it will be out cold by sunset. Pile size is limited to 8'x8'x8' (512 cubic feet). Larger burns require a smoke management permit.
*Please note that burning is prohibited in the seven-county Denver/Boulder metro area from November 1-March 31 each year. This includes Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
If you wish to open burn small piles/slash in the following counties, please contact the local delegated agency for a permit (a delegated agency is one that has been granted legal delegation by Colorado’s Air Pollution Control Division to issue open burning permits):
- Boulder
- Broomfield
- Denver
- Eagle
- El Paso
- Grand
- Huerfano
- Jefferson
- Kiowa
- Lake
- Larimer
- Las Animas
- Mesa
- Routt
- Summit
- Teller
- Weld
All other counties require a state permit. Please apply below.
Open Burning Small Pile/Slash Permit application | Download the form to fill out PDF/Word
CDPHE-APCD-SS-B1
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver, CO 80246-1530
For questions, please contact the Air Pollution Control Division at 303-692-3268.
Ban Information
- For information about region-specific bans, please visit the Colorado Office of Emergency Management.
- We won’t issue permits in a county with an ongoing fire ban.
General Information
- Open burning fact sheet.
- Includes what can be burned, alternatives to burning and whether a permit is needed.
- Open burning FAQs.
- Frequently asked questions about open burning.
- Information about agricultural open burning.
- Regulation 9: Open Burning, Prescribed Fire and Permitting.
- State regulation that covers burning and establishes the permitting requirements.
- Open burning weather forecast(metropolitan Denver only).
- If you have a permit to burn in metro Denver, you must check the forecast.
- County smoke contacts
- Colorado county government air-quality contacts for smoke management and open burning permits.