Catron County does not have any type of Open Burning Regulation or Ordinance at this time. Most residents are very use to "lighting up" without notifying anyone, including their neighbor.

The State DOES have an Open Burning Regulation through the State of NM Environment Dept. "District V" out of Grants handles Catron, Cibola, McKinley, San Juan, Socorro, and Valencia Counties. The contact number for this office is (505) 287-3415, ask for the Compliance Officer.

 Before 2004, anyone in the State needed to get a NMED permit before burning. After 2004, they took this need away, but put in place the need for "burners" to know and follow the requirements for the kind of burning they plan on doing. Not much, if any education to the public has been done on this.

The Open Burning Regulation is on-line at www.nmenv.state.us/aqb. The one page "Checklist and Guide for Open Burning of Vegetative Material" is also there. Item number 7 states, "have you notified the local firefighting authority prior to burning?"  The link to this page can be found under "Links".