By Savannah Eller
The Gazette
DENVER — Starting this year, Colorado is the first Western state after California with a statewide, mandatory building code for structures in the wildland-urban interface, where communities encroach on wilderness with wildfire potential.
The deadline to adopt the code was April 1. In some jurisdictions, it was a formality cleared with a short discussion and vote. The small town of Green Mountain Falls , which sits in a high-fire-risk zone in El Paso County, delayed its vote until this week after a debate unfolded.
| BETTER EVERY SHIFT: Dena Ali: How leaders shape firefighter wellness
“For me personally, I can see both sides of the coin for this code,” wrote Mayor Todd Dixon in an emailed statement.
Set in motion by Senate Bill 23-166, which created a state board, the code was established last summer. The deadline for local districts to be compliant is July 1.
The new code imposes minimum standards on new construction, including the use of fire-resistant materials. For existing homes and other structures, the new rules kick in for exterior walls and roofs when the damage to be repaired is more than 25% of the whole.
For example, a hail-damaged roof in the wildland-urban interface needing more than 25% of its area repaired will need to be completely replaced if the original materials don’t meet the new standards.
The statewide code is the new minimum standard in Colorado, in some cases superseding local jurisdictions with less stringent requirements.
The new rules allow local jurisdictions in the wildland-urban interface to create their own wildfire intensity maps, outlining three levels of possible fire intensity based on fuels in vegetation, the topography and other factors. The higher the rating, the more stringent the hardening requirements. If a local map isn’t in place, then the default is a map created by the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control and the Colorado State Forest Service.
Brett Lacey, a former fire marshal at the Colorado Springs Fire Department who helped develop the state code, said the new requirements follow updates in fire science about how buildings catch fire and how fast it can spread from one building to the next.
“We have to reduce the ignitability of the structures,” he said.
Dixon said he understood the need for wildfire building codes and that the state’s plan was “pretty much exactly” what Green Mountain Falls’ Fire Mitigation Committee has been recommending. On the other hand, he said the new code and other state requirements could push rebuild costs past insurance payouts.
“We will need to get the word out to our residents to make sure their policies are sufficient to where they can afford to rebuild,” he said.
The other sticking point for Green Mountain Falls was enforcement. Since someone needs to make sure the code is being followed, town leadership assumed they might have to pass extra inspection costs to building applicants.
Bill Wysong, an El Paso County Commissioner and former leader of Westside Watch, a Colorado Springs -area wildfire awareness group, also had some criticisms of the new code.
“It was a good intention, but I personally believe they missed the mark in a couple of areas,” he said.
He found the replacement requirements “overreaching” and was also concerned about the lack of funding for code enforcement, which he said would be passed along to small fire districts with few resources.
“That is going to be a huge burden to the homeowner,” he said.
Lacey said the board in charge of creating the Wildfire Resiliency Code weighed the pros and cons. He said the sacrifices were balanced with public safety concerns. As communities expand, he said the theory was that newer buildings built under the wildfire code could slowly create “protective rings” around older, more flammable areas. The positive effects could take years to come to fruition, however.
“We cannot expect unreasonable miracles,” he said.
According to Lacey, the board also hoped the code would help reassure insurance companies considering an exodus that Colorado was serious about wildfire mitigation.
“There was some concern about insurance companies potentially leaving the state,” he said.
The full code text and an educational video series can be found on the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control website.
Officials called the fire and explosion at Robbins Lumber a mass-casualty event in Searsmont
A medical transport plane crashed in rugged terrain near Ruidoso,and starting a wildfire that quickly spread in dry, windy conditions
Engineer Steven Decker, a 30-year member, died after a training exercise in West Ridge, marking the department’s second LODD in recent months
The family of Cleveland fire cadet Symeon Williams Sr. claims he was subjected to racially motivated hazing and excessive physical activity before a fatal medical emergency
© 2026 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
Visit www.gazette.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Communities across America united May 2-3 in honor of fire heroes lost in the line of duty
