Subject to the provisions of any relevant plans or agreements, the sheriff of every county, in addition to other duties, shall act as fire warden of the sheriff's respective county and is responsible for the coordination of fire suppression efforts in case of prairie, forest, or wildland fires or wildfires occurring in the unincorporated area of the county outside the boundaries of a fire department or that exceed the capabilities of the fire department to control or extinguish.
Source: L. 03: p. 176, � 1. R.S. 08: � 1280. C.L. � 8755. CSA: C. 45, � 102. CRS 53: � 35-5-12. C.R.S. 1963: � 35-5-12. L. 2009: Entire section amended, (SB 09-020), ch. 189, p. 829, � 4, effective April 30; entire section amended, (SB 09-001), ch. 30, p. 128, � 4, effective August 5. L. 2024: Entire section amended, (HB 24-1155), ch. 48, p. 171, � 6, effective August 7.
Editor's note: Amendments to this section by Senate Bill 09-001 and Senate Bill 09-020 were harmonized.
Cross references: For duty of sheriff to report fires, see � 24-33.5-1219.
30-10-513. Duties of sheriff - coordination of fire suppression efforts for forest, prairie, or wildland fire - expenses - definition. (1) (a) Subject to the provisions of any relevant plans or agreements, it is the duty of the sheriff to assume the responsibility for coordinating fire suppression efforts in case of any prairie, forest, or wildland fire or wildfire occurring in the unincorporated area of the county outside the boundaries of a fire department or that exceed the capabilities of the fire department to control or extinguish.
(b) In the case of a prairie, forest, or wildland fire occurring within the jurisdictional boundaries of one or more fire departments that does not exceed the capabilities of the fire department to control or extinguish, the sheriff or the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety may assist the chief of the fire department in controlling or extinguishing such fire, and, in connection with such assistance, the sheriff may solicit such additional assistance from such persons as the sheriff and the fire chief deem necessary. The sheriff may assume command of such incidents with the concurrence of the fire chief.
(c) In the case of a prairie, forest, or wildland fire that exceeds the capabilities of the fire department to control or extinguish and that requires mutual aid and outside resources, the sheriff shall appoint an incident commander to provide the command and control infrastructure required to manage the fire. The sheriff shall assume financial responsibility for fire fighting efforts on behalf of the county and the authority for the ordering and monitoring of resources.
(d) When a wildfire exceeds the capability of the county to control or extinguish, the sheriff shall be responsible for seeking the assistance of the state by requesting assistance from the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety. The sheriff and the director of the division of fire prevention and control shall enter into an agreement concerning the transfer of authority and responsibility for fire suppression and the retention of responsibilities.
(2) The director of the division of fire prevention and control may assume any duty or responsibility given to the sheriff under this section with the concurrence of the sheriff.
(3) (a) The board of county commissioners of any county may allow the sheriff, undersheriffs, deputies, municipal or county fire departments, fire protection districts, fire authorities, and such other persons as may be called upon to assist in controlling or extinguishing a prairie, forest, or wildland fire such compensation and reimbursement for other expenses necessarily incurred as the board deems just.
(b) The board of county commissioners of any county may allow a fire department, fire protection district, or volunteer fire department compensation and reimbursement from a county funding source for other expenses necessarily incurred in controlling or extinguishing a prairie, forest, or wildland fire within the jurisdiction or boundaries of the fire department, fire protection district, or volunteer fire department if the circumstances set forth in section 24-33.5-1220 (6)(a)(I), (6)(a)(II), and (6)(a)(III) are met, as the board deems just.
(4) The board of county commissioners of any county in the state may make such appropriation as it may deem proper for the purpose of controlling fires in its county. The board of county commissioners is authorized to levy a special tax subject to approval of the voters upon every dollar of valuation of assessment of the taxable property within the county for the purpose of creating a fund that shall be appropriated, after consultation with representatives of fire departments, fire protection districts, and fire authorities in the county, to prevent, control, or extinguish such fires anywhere in the county and to fix the rate of levy.
(5) The agency that has jurisdiction over any wildland fire in the state shall manage the fire using the incident command system as defined in section 29-22.5-102 (3).
(6) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, fire department has the same meaning as set forth in section 24-33.5-1202 (3.9).
Source: L. 03: p. 176, � 2. R.S. 08: � 1281. C.L. � 8756. CSA: C. 45, � 103. L. 45: p. 299, � 1. CRS 53: � 35-5-13. C.R.S. 1963: � 35-5-13. L. 65: p. 925, � 4. L. 96: Entire section amended, p. 673, � 1, effective May 2. L. 2000: Entire section amended, p. 1303, � 6, effective May 26. L. 2009: Entire section amended, (SB 09-105), ch. 190, p. 831, � 1, effective April 30; entire section R&RE, (SB 09-020), ch. 189, p. 829, � 5, effective April 30; entire section amended, (SB 09-001), ch. 30, p. 128, � 5, effective August 5. L. 2010: (1)(b) amended, (HB 10-1422), ch. 419, p. 2119, � 163, effective August 11. L. 2013: (1) (d) and (2) amended, (HB 13-1300), ch. 316, p. 1694, � 97, effective August 7. L. 2022: (3) amended, (SB 22-002), ch. 339, p. 2442, � 6, effective June 3. L. 2024: (1) amended and (5) and (6) added, (HB 24-1155), ch. 48, p. 171, � 7, effective August 7.
Editor's note: (1) Amendments to this section by Senate Bill 09-001 and Senate Bill 09-020 were harmonized.
(2) This section was amended in Senate Bill 09-105. Those amendments were superseded by the repeal and reenactment of this section in Senate Bill 09-020. However, the intent of Senate Bill 09-105 was realized by the adoption the House Local Government committee of reference report to Senate Bill 09-020. (See the House Journal for March 18, 2009, page 770.)
Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 2000 act amending this section, see section 6 of chapter 272, Session Laws of Colorado 2000.
30-10-513.5. Authority of sheriff relating to fires within unincorporated areas of county - liability for expenses. (1) (a) The sheriff of any county may request assistance from a fire protection district or municipality in controlling or extinguishing a fire occurring on private property if, in the judgment of such sheriff, the fire constitutes a danger to the health and safety of the public or a risk of serious damage to property. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, any fire protection district or municipality assisting in controlling or extinguishing such fire is entitled to reimbursement from the property owner on whose property the fire occurred or from the party responsible for the occurrence of such fire for the reasonable and documented costs resulting from such assistance. The fire protection district or municipality may recover the costs incurred in a civil action against the property owner or the responsible party or may, by resolution of its board or governing body adopted at a public hearing after notice to the affected parties, certify to the county treasurer the amount of any costs incurred that remains uncollected after diligent effort for a period greater than one hundred eighty days. Such certification is subject to the appeal process and all other remedies, if any, provided in the State Administrative Procedure Act, article 4 of title 24, C.R.S. If the fire protection district or municipality prevails, the amount certified shall be collected by the treasurer in the same manner as taxes are authorized to be collected pursuant to section 39-10-107, C.R.S. To defray the costs of collection, the treasurer shall be authorized to charge an amount equal to ten percent of the amount collected.
(b) For purposes of this subsection (1), fire occurring on private property means:
(I) A fire occurring on property not located within a fire protection district or municipality providing fire protection services.
(II) (Deleted by amendment, L. 93, p. 1253, � 1, effective July 1, 1993.)
(c) This section does not prohibit a county from reimbursing a fire protection district, fire department, or volunteer fire department for expenses necessarily incurred in controlling or extinguishing a prairie, forest, or wildland fire from a county funding source in accordance with section 30-10-513 (3)(b).
(2) (a) An owner of private property who has contracted with a fire protection district for fire protection services shall advise the sheriff of such contract and any fire protection districts with which such district has mutual aid agreements. In the event that a fire occurs on such property, the sheriff shall make a reasonable attempt to secure the services from such district. If the district does not respond, he shall make a reasonable attempt to secure such services from any of the districts with which such district has mutual aid agreements. If services cannot be secured, the sheriff, in his discretion, may attempt to secure fire protection services from any other district or municipality, and, if services are provided, the owner of the property or the party responsible for the fire shall be liable for the costs incurred by such district or municipality. Such costs may be assessed and collected in the manner provided in subsection (1) of this section.
(b) No sheriff shall be held liable for failure to secure fire protection services as required by paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) unless the failure was due to willful misconduct, gross negligence, or bad faith.
(3) Any property owner who desires to conduct a controlled burn of a structure or building located on such property shall notify the county sheriff of the date when such controlled burn will be conducted. Any property owner providing such notification shall not be liable for any costs under this section resulting from the response by a fire protection district or municipality to such controlled burn due to any person informing or warning such district or municipality of the fire arising from such burn.
Source: L. 89: Entire section added, p. 1279, � 1, effective April 26. L. 93: (1) amended and (3) added, p. 1253, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2000: (1)(a) amended, p. 1304, � 7, effective May 26. L. 2022: (1)(c) added, (SB 22-002), ch. 339, p. 2442, � 7, effective June 3.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 2000 act amending subsection (1)(a), see section 7 of chapter 272, Session Laws of Colorado 2000.