Louisville takes additional fire prevention steps
Louisville City Council passed an emergency ordinance in January 2026, banning the planting of new juniper trees citywide and strengthening fire-hardening requirements for building materials. The emergency ordinance is the latest move as jurisdictions and municipalities continue to evolve amid unprecedented drought conditions in Colorado.
The ordinance amends the city’s Fire Hardening Code for Structures by adding a prohibition on planting or installing any species of juniper anywhere within city limits. Existing junipers may be maintained but cannot be replanted, relocated, or replaced with another juniper species. The measure came months before the height of Colorado’s planting season and more than five years after the Marshall Fire tore through Louisville and neighboring communities, destroying hundreds of homes.
