Cooler weather and recent moisture have ended fire restrictions across most of Douglas County.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office lifted Stage 1 fire restrictions for all unincorporated areas of the county on Sept. 17, 2026, by order of Sheriff Darren Weekly. The office's fire restrictions page notes that the lift includes Larkspur and Castle Pines.
The Town of Castle Rock announced the same day that its restrictions have been lifted, citing "cooler temperatures, recent moisture and a favorable long-range forecast." The Town's fire restrictions page now states that Castle Rock "is currently under no fire restrictions."
Parker lifted too — but its fireworks page never caught up
Incorporated towns set their own restrictions, and Parker moved the same day the county did.
The Town of Parker's Office of Emergency Management rescinded its Stage One fire ban on Sept. 17, 2026. In the Town's own words: "There are now no fire restrictions in place for the Parker community."
Here is the catch, and it is worth knowing before you go looking for an answer: Parker's standing fireworks information page was never updated. It still describes the Aug. 20 move from Stage 2 to Stage 1 and says those restrictions "will remain in place until further notice." That page is out of date. The Sept. 17 news flash is the current word.
Castle Pines lifted its Stage 1 restrictions the same day as well, in its own announcement — separate from the county order that covers unincorporated land around it.
What Stage 1 covers
The Sheriff's Office defines Stage 1 as prohibiting:
- Open burning of any kind
- Use of fireworks
- Use of model rockets
Stage 1 allows fires in liquid-fueled or gas-fueled stoves, fireplaces within buildings, and charcoal grill fires within developed recreation sites.
Violating county fire restrictions is a Class 2 petty offense, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 plus a $10 surcharge.
Check before you burn
Restrictions move with conditions, and the county, the towns, and the national forest do not always match. The Sheriff's Office notes that even with restrictions lifted, "the danger of fire is always present."
- Unincorporated Douglas County (incl. Larkspur, Castle Pines): Douglas County Sheriff's Office fire restrictions
- Castle Rock: crgov.com/firebans
- Parker: Town of Parker fireworks and fire restrictions
Heading outdoors now that fires are allowed again? See our guide to camping near Douglas County and fall events across the county.
Reported September 17, 2026 and corrected September 19 from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office fire restrictions page, a Douglas County alert notice, the Town of Castle Rock's announcement, the Town of Parker's Sept. 17 news flash "Stage One Fire Ban Rescinded," and the City of Castle Pines' Sept. 17 announcement.
🔴 Correction: this article originally said Parker still had Stage 1 restrictions in effect. It did not — Parker rescinded its ban on Sept. 17, the same day as the county. The error came from reading Parker's standing fireworks page, which still says restrictions remain in place and had not been updated; the Town announced the rescission through a separate news flash. The Castle Pines and Parker announcements were surfaced by our own overnight source sweep on Sept. 18.
Note for the record: the Douglas County news article carrying the Sheriff's lift language is dated June 2, 2026 and refers to an earlier lifting — the Sept. 17 date here comes from the county's current alert notice and the Sheriff's Office page, which are independent of it. We could not find a published current fire restriction status for Lone Tree, so none is stated here.
Update, Oct. 6, 2026: Castle Rock Town Council is weighing an ordinance that would ban fireworks sales during Stage 1 restrictions like these, not just Stage 2, and spell out exactly what's allowed on a patio under each stage.