News and Articles
05/27/2026
Santa Fe County open burning prohibition begins today
SANTA FE, N.M., May 27,2026—The Santa Fe County Fire Marshal issued an order prohibiting open burning in the unincorporated areas of Santa Fe County, beginning May 27. Current open burning permits will be suspended, and new open burning permits will not be issued, until further order of the Fire Marshal.
The majority of the County is within or close to the Wildland Urban Interface Area, an area prone to fire danger, where homes, neighborhoods and other human development are intertwined with undeveloped wildland vegetation. The Fire Code provides that open burning shall be prohibited when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous. The unincorporated portions of the County are currently in high-risk conditions, creating a significant and immediate threat to the life, safety, health and welfare of residents of the County, and to public and private property located within the County.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service Santa Fe National Forest has implemented emergency Stage 1 fire restrictions on all National Forest System lands, roads and trails within the exterior boundaries of the Santa Fe National Forest effective April 2 of this year. There are several wildland fires actively burning in New Mexico resulting from the high-risk fire conditions. An immediate and present danger of range fires, brush fires, grass fires, forest fires and structure fires exists within the County due to persistent hot, dry, and unstable atmospheric conditions. Given these circumstances, the probability of ignition of materials and the spread of fire pose a severe threat to persons and property.
This order remains in effect until further order of the Fire Marshal.
