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Wildfire zone & permit report

Can you build a wood deck at your address?

Inside the city’s wildfire overlay, a deck cannot have a wood walking surface. It covers about 96 square miles of Colorado Springs, and most homeowners have no idea they are in it.

Immediate results, no contact details required. Direct integration with City of Colorado Springs’ wildfire overlay map.

Colorado Springs wildfire overlay El Paso County with the Colorado Springs city limits, the interstate and main highways, and the city's mapped Wildland-Urban Interface overlay shaded across the western and northern edges of the city and along the eastern corridor. Colorado Springs
  • Overlay, Class 1 28,679 ac
  • Overlay, Class 2 32,873 ac
  • Colorado Springs city limits
  • El Paso County

What the rule actually says

“Wood is not permitted to be used for the decking surface but can be used for all large structural components and railings.”

City of Colorado Springs Fire Prevention Code, Appendix K §K105.1(8) (adopted by Ordinance 23-14, effective 30 June 2023)

The boundary follows terrain and vegetation rather than neighborhoods, so two houses on the same street can sit on different sides of it. That is why the answer takes an address rather than a zip code.

Inside the overlay the walking surface has to be Class A material, or a composite rated Class B or better. Stair treads count as walking surface. Wood stays legal for framing, railings, and the support posts under a covered deck — so an overlay address does not mean giving up the look of timber, only the boards underfoot.

The full overlay rules · materials that qualify · permits and inspections

Which rule applies

Colorado adopted a statewide wildfire code in July 2025, and Colorado Springs has its own Appendix K on top of it. The city’s version is stricter on decking material, so inside city limits that is the one that governs your deck.

The overlay only covers properties inside Colorado Springs. If you are in unincorporated El Paso County, the check above will not match your address — send it to us and we will look up what applies to you.

One thing that catches people out

A board can be sold as “WUI compliant” and still have no flame-spread class on its data sheet. The code here names the class, so the class is what gets checked. Colorado tests to ASTM E84, UL 723 and ASTM E2768; the specific product line needs checking before the order goes in.

This check is a reference, not a determination. Pikes Peak Regional Building Department makes the call, and we will tell you exactly who to ask.