The Erie County burn ban follows two overlapping rules you need to know before lighting anything outdoors. First, New York prohibits all residential brush burning statewide from March 16 through May 14 each year. Second, even outside that spring window, brush burning is only legal in towns with fewer than 20,000 residents, which excludes Buffalo and nearly every populated town in the county. Campfires, cooking fires, and grills remain legal year-round within size limits, but leaves, household trash, and treated wood can never be burned.
The Spring Brush Ban: March 16 Through May 14
Every year from March 16 through May 14, the Department of Environmental Conservation prohibits residential brush burning across the entire state. The window targets the weeks before spring green-up, when dead vegetation is dry and fires spread quickly. During these two months, no one in Erie County can burn brush regardless of where they live or how much land they own.1New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC Reminds New Yorkers: Statewide Residential Brush Burning Prohibition Starts March 16
Under DEC rules, brush means downed limbs and branches less than six inches in diameter and eight feet in length, including branches with attached leaves. Anything larger does not qualify for the brush-burning exception even outside the ban period.2New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Open Burning
The Population Rule That Covers Most of Erie County
Outside the March 16 to May 14 window, brush burning is only legal in towns with a total population under 20,000. The count includes anyone living in villages inside the town’s borders, and burning is never allowed within a village even if the surrounding town qualifies.3Cornell Law Institute. New York Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 6 215.3
In practice, this rule bans brush burning year-round across most of Erie County. Buffalo, Amherst, Cheektowaga, Tonawanda, Hamburg, West Seneca, Lancaster, Orchard Park, and Clarence all exceed the 20,000-resident threshold. If you live in any of those communities, there is no legal window to burn brush on your property at any point in the year. Only a handful of smaller, more rural Erie County towns fall under the cutoff. If you are not sure where your town stands, check its population against census data before lighting anything.2New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Open Burning
What You Can Burn Year-Round
A few outdoor fires remain legal throughout the year in Erie County, regardless of the brush ban or the population rule:
- Campfires and fire pits, as long as they stay under three feet in height and four feet in length, width, or diameter.
- Small cooking fires, within the same size limits.
- Charcoal and gas grills for cooking food, at any time.
Campfires and fire pit fires must use only charcoal or clean, dry, untreated, unpainted wood. No painted lumber, no stained deck scraps, no plywood. Every fire must be attended until it is fully extinguished. Walking away from a smoldering campfire violates the rules.2New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Open Burning
What You Can Never Burn
Some materials are off-limits every day of the year, statewide, with no exceptions:
- Household trash, including plastic, rubber, and chemical containers. Burn barrels do not make it legal.
- Leaves. Leaf piles cannot be burned anywhere in New York, in any season, in any town.
- Treated or finished wood, including pressure-treated lumber, painted wood, stained wood, plywood, and particle board.
- Tires and synthetic materials, which release toxic compounds when burned.
Burning trash and treated wood releases arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde, lead, and dioxin, which settle into soil and water. The prohibition applies even on large rural properties.1New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC Reminds New Yorkers: Statewide Residential Brush Burning Prohibition Starts March 16
Narrow Exemptions That Probably Don’t Apply to You
Two categories of burning operate outside the normal rules, and both are narrower than they first appear. Farms with more than five contiguous acres actively used for agriculture or horticulture can burn organic waste generated on-site, including brush cleared from fields, and are not subject to the March 16 to May 14 ban. Even then, pesticides, plastics, trash, and tires remain prohibited, and the material must burn out within 24 hours.2New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Open Burning
Prescribed burns for forest and land management are also exempt from the annual ban, but a private landowner cannot run one. These are conducted by nationally certified burn bosses working from detailed plans and coordinated by the DEC with the National Weather Service.4New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC Announces Start of Prescribed Fire Season
Your Town or Village May Be Stricter
Towns, villages, cities, and counties in New York can pass ordinances tougher than the state’s Part 215 rules. Even if the state technically allows a small campfire, your specific municipality might prohibit it entirely.2New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Open Burning Before building any fire, check with your local fire marshal or town clerk. If the local rule bans something the state would otherwise allow, the local rule controls.
Penalties for Violating the Burn Ban
Open burning violations run on two tracks, civil and criminal, and the dollar amounts climb fast.
Under ECL Section 71-2103, a first civil violation brings a penalty between $500 and $18,000, plus up to $15,000 for each additional day the violation continues. A second or subsequent civil violation can reach $26,000 per incident, with continuing penalties up to $22,500 per day. The state can also seek a court injunction forcing you to stop.5New York State Senate. Environmental Conservation Law 71-2103 – Violations; Civil Liability
Willful violations trigger ECL Section 71-2105, which makes the offense a misdemeanor. A first criminal conviction carries a fine between $500 and $18,000, up to one year in jail, or both. A second conviction raises the potential fine to $26,000, and each day of continued violation counts as a separate offense.6New York State Senate. Environmental Conservation Law 71-2105 – Criminal Liability for Violations
Civil penalties can apply to anyone who violates the rules. Criminal prosecution requires proof the burning was deliberate. Enforcement officers can issue appearance tickets requiring a court date, and a conviction creates a permanent record.
Reporting Illegal Burning
If you see someone burning illegally, call the DEC’s 24/7 dispatch line at 1-844-DEC-ECOS (1-844-332-3267). The line handles environmental complaints around the clock.7New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Report An Environmental Violation Or Problem If a fire is actively burning and threatening property or safety, call 911 first, then follow up with the DEC.