Austin County Burn Ban: Exceptions, Penalties, and Reporting

As of April 13, 2026, there is no active Austin County burn ban; the Commissioners Court has lifted the previous order for the unincorporated areas of the county.¹ That status can flip fast in hot, dry weather, so confirm it the day you plan to burn. Any order the court issues takes effect immediately, lasts up to 90 days, and can be renewed back-to-back if drought or other hazards persist.² Burning while an order is active is a Class C misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $500.³

Where to Confirm the Current Status

Two county sources post the current order. Austin County’s official site at austincounty.com links directly to the signed PDF of the most recent order or rescission, and the Austin County Office of Emergency Management at ac-oem.com shows the current status on its homepage.⁴¹ If you land on a document and are unsure whether it is current, check the date and the County Judge’s signature on the order itself.

For a wider view, the Texas A&M Forest Service maintains a statewide map showing which counties have active bans at any given time.⁵

What a Ban Prohibits

A ban under Texas Local Government Code Section 352.081 covers outdoor burning in the unincorporated parts of the county.² The exact scope depends on the language of the order the court signed, but a typical Austin County order prohibits:

Burning household trash or refuse, whether in a barrel, a pit, or an open pile.
Burning yard clippings, cleared brush, leaves, and downed limbs.
Burning construction debris such as scrap lumber, treated wood, and building materials.
Use of burn barrels, which let embers escape even when enclosed.

If you live inside an incorporated city within Austin County, that city’s ordinances control outdoor burning, not the county order. State air quality rules apply everywhere regardless.

What Is Still Allowed

Two categories survive a county burn ban by statute, and most orders include room for backyard cooking.

Statutory Exceptions

Activities the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality authorizes for public health and safety remain legal during a ban. These include firefighter training, operations involving public utilities or natural gas pipelines, and agricultural burning tied to planting or harvesting. Prescribed burns run by a certified and insured burn manager who meets the standards in the Texas Natural Resources Code are also exempt.² A prescribed burn for forest management requires advance notification to the Texas A&M Forest Service.⁶

Outdoor Cooking

The statute does not address backyard grilling, but most Austin County orders allow outdoor cooking as long as the fire is fully contained in a grill, smoker, or purpose-built fire pit. Conditions vary from one order to the next, so read the current document on the county website before assuming your setup qualifies. Keep water or an extinguisher within arm’s reach, and stay with the fire until it is completely out.

Rules That Apply Even Without a Ban

State environmental regulations set a floor for any outdoor burning in Texas, ban or no ban.

Some materials are never legal to burn: plastics, tires, treated lumber, electrical insulation, asphalt-based materials, chemical waste, and anything containing rubber.⁷ Burning these is an air quality violation enforced on its own.

For an authorized burn, wind speeds have to be between 6 and 23 mph. You cannot start the fire earlier than one hour after sunrise, and it must be finished no later than one hour before sunset. If anything is still smoldering past that window and the smoke could create a nuisance or traffic hazard, you are responsible for putting it out. You also have to stay at least 300 feet from any occupied structure on a neighbor’s property unless that neighbor gives written approval. If smoke drifts across a public road, you are responsible for posting flaggers to warn traffic.⁷

Fireworks Are a Separate Order

A burn ban does not restrict fireworks, and a fireworks restriction does not ban outdoor burning. They come from different statutes with different triggers. Under Texas Local Government Code Section 352.051, the Commissioners Court can restrict the sale and use of certain fireworks (specifically skyrockets with sticks and missiles with fins, not all consumer fireworks) when the Keetch-Byram Drought Index reaches 575 or higher. A fireworks restriction has to be adopted before specific seasonal deadlines tied to holidays such as the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and New Year’s Eve, and violating one is also a Class C misdemeanor.⁸ If both matter to you, check both orders.

Penalties and Civil Exposure

Knowingly or intentionally violating an active burn ban is a Class C misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $500.²³ Anyone harmed by the fire can also seek an injunction to stop the burning or prevent future violations.

The fine is the smaller problem if the fire escapes. If your burn spreads to a neighbor’s land and damages property or injures someone, you face a negligence suit, and the fact that you were burning during an active ban makes negligence much easier for the other side to prove. Texas has a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims, and property damage from a negligent fire can run well into six figures depending on what burned. Homeowners insurance may cover some damages, but policies often exclude losses caused by the insured’s intentional or illegal conduct.

How to Report a Violation

If you see unauthorized burning during an active ban, call the Austin County Sheriff’s Office dispatch at 979-865-3111.⁹ Give them the address or GPS coordinates, a description of what is burning, and whether flames appear to be spreading. A deputy or fire official will investigate and determine whether the burning falls under a permitted exception.

If you are planning a lawful burn during a period with no active ban, notify your local fire department before you light it. That keeps dispatchers from sending crews in response to 911 calls about your smoke.

How Long an Order Lasts

Each order has to state how long it runs, and no single order can last longer than 90 days. If conditions have not improved when it expires, the Commissioners Court can adopt a new order that same day. An order ends earlier if the Texas A&M Forest Service determines that drought conditions have ended, or, for a non-drought order, if the court or its designee finds the hazard no longer exists.² That is why the status posted on the county site is the only reliable answer on any given day: the order you remember from last month may already have been renewed, replaced, or rescinded.

1
Austin County Emergency Management. Homepage
2
State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code Section 352.081 – Regulation of Outdoor Burning
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.23 – Class C Misdemeanor
4
Austin County Texas. Austin County Texas
5
Texas A&M Forest Service. Burn Bans and Information
6
Texas A&M Forest Service. Notification of Prescribed Burning
7
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Outdoor Burning in Texas
8
State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code LOC GOVT 352.051
9
Austin County Sheriffs Office. Dispatch