Is There a Burn Ban in Ohio Right Now? Seasons and County Rules

Yes, there is a burn ban in Ohio for part of every year. Under state law, outdoor burning is prohibited in unincorporated areas from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. during March, April, May, October, and November.¹ On top of that standing seasonal rule, the governor, the Ohio State Fire Marshal, or your county can impose an emergency ban when drought or fire conditions get bad enough. Whether you can legally light a fire right now depends on the date, the hour, where your property sits, and what you plan to burn.

When the Statewide Ban Applies

The seasonal ban covers the five months when dry leaves, dormant grass, and dead vegetation create the most wildfire fuel, and when wind tends to be higher and humidity lower during daylight. It runs 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. During those hours you cannot burn wood, brush, weeds, grass, or other debris outdoors.¹

Two limits matter. First, the ban lifts at 6:00 p.m. and reopens at 6:00 a.m., so evening and overnight burning is allowed unless another rule blocks it. Second, the statute governs unincorporated land — the area outside city and village boundaries. If you live inside a municipality, your city or village ordinance controls, and it is often stricter. Call your local fire department before you assume you’re clear.²

One narrow exception exists for farmers. Fires kindled in a plowed field, garden, or public highway that sit at least 200 feet from any woodland, brushland, or field of dry grass are allowed during the daytime hours the ban would otherwise cover.¹ Both conditions have to be met.

How to Check for an Emergency or County Ban

The seasonal rule is not the only ban that can be in effect. The governor has authority under ORC 1503.18 to issue executive orders that tighten restrictions or shut down outdoor burning entirely when conditions demand it, typically during extended drought when even nighttime hours carry serious wildfire risk.¹

Emergency bans can also come from the Ohio State Fire Marshal, and they can vary by county. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources recommends checking all state and local restrictions before you light anything, because a county-level ban can be in effect even when there is no statewide emergency order.³ The fastest check is a call to your local fire department. The ODNR and Ohio EPA websites also post current notices.

Where You Live Changes the Rules

Separate from the Division of Forestry’s seasonal ban, the Ohio EPA classifies land as either “restricted” or “unrestricted” for air quality purposes. That designation controls what kinds of fires are allowed and whether you have to file paperwork before lighting one.

Restricted areas are:

All land inside any city or village.
Land within 1,000 feet outside any city or village with a population between 1,000 and 10,000.
Land within one mile outside any city or village with a population over 10,000.

Everything else is unrestricted.⁴ In restricted areas, many burns — including agricultural waste disposal and ceremonial bonfires above the recreational size — require written notification to the Ohio EPA at least ten days before the fire.⁵ In unrestricted areas, notification is generally triggered only when burn piles exceed 20 feet wide by 10 feet high. Either way, agricultural and land-clearing burns must sit at least 1,000 feet from any inhabited neighboring building, and the fire cannot create a visibility hazard for roads, railroads, or airfields.

What You Can Burn When Nothing’s Banned

Small recreational fires for cooking, warmth, or gathering are allowed year-round in both restricted and unrestricted areas without notifying the Ohio EPA, but the limits are firm. Total fuel area cannot exceed three feet in diameter and two feet in height. You can only use clean, seasoned firewood, natural gas, or an equivalent clean-burning fuel. The fire cannot be used to get rid of waste.⁵

Larger ceremonial bonfires — up to five feet in diameter and five feet in height — are allowed in restricted areas with advance notification to the Ohio EPA. They must use the same clean seasoned firewood or equivalent fuel and cannot burn longer than three hours.⁵

Every outdoor fire, regardless of size, has to be attended by a responsible adult the whole time it burns and fully extinguished before anyone leaves. Ohio’s fire code also requires recreational fires to sit at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material. The distance drops to 15 feet for manufactured gas-fired fire pits. A fire that meets the size and fuel rules but sits too close to a building is still a violation.

What You Can Never Burn

Some materials are off-limits outdoors in Ohio no matter the season, hour, or location. The prohibited list covers anything containing rubber, grease, asphalt, liquid petroleum products, plastics, or building materials.⁶ In practice that means no tires, no treated or painted lumber, no construction debris, no household trash, and no food waste or dead animals.⁴ Route those materials through your local waste service instead.

Farm and Land-Clearing Burns

If you’re clearing property, the rules are different from a backyard fire. Agricultural waste — tree trimmings, stumps, brush, weeds, leaves, crop residue, fence posts, scrap lumber — can be burned on the property where it was generated. Outside municipal limits, no Ohio EPA notification is needed unless the pile exceeds 20 feet by 10 feet. Inside city or village limits, the fire must sit more than 1,000 feet from any neighbor’s inhabited building and you must notify the Ohio EPA in advance.⁴

Land-clearing waste is tighter. Burning it inside a city or village is not allowed at all. Outside municipal boundaries, you need prior written permission from the Ohio EPA, which can take about two weeks.⁴ Disease and pest control burns are allowed only when a health department or agricultural agency verifies in writing that burning is the only viable control method, and the Ohio EPA still has to be notified in advance.⁵

Penalties for Illegal Burning

Violating ORC 1503.18 is a third-degree misdemeanor. The maximum penalty is a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.⁷ The Ohio EPA enforces separately and can impose fines of up to $1,000 per day per offense, so a fire that runs across multiple days or breaks multiple rules adds up fast.

There’s a second layer of exposure. Under ORC 1503.17, if state forest-fire wardens have to step in to put out a fire you neglected, you owe half the suppression costs. That amount becomes a lien on your property and is recoverable as a special tax assessment.⁸ Depending on how many personnel and how much equipment the response takes, that bill can dwarf the criminal fine.

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 1503.18 – Kindled Fires
2
Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Open Burning Regulations
3
Ohio Department of Natural Resources. ODNR Urges Caution During Ohio’s Spring Wildfire Season
4
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Before You Light It – Know Ohio’s Open Burning Regulations
5
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Rule 3745-19-03 – Open Burning in Restricted Areas
6
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Rule 3745-19-04 – Open Burning in Unrestricted Areas
7
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 1503.99 – Penalties
8
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 1503.17 – Owner or Lessee Not to Receive Compensation for Extinguishing Fire