A few types of open burning are permitted everywhere, even in restricted
areas. Fires must be kept to a minimum size for their intended purpose,
and shall not be used for waste disposal purposes.
Within a Restricted Area:
1. Cooking for human consumption (barbecues, campfires, cookouts); heating tar; welding and acetylene torches; smudge pots and similar occupational needs; heating for warmth of outdoor workers and strikers.
2. By notifying Ohio EPA in advance, fires set to train firefighters, to dispose of certain ignitable or
explosive materials, or to dispose of poisons such as pesticides and
their containers are allowed with prior written permission from Ohio
EPA. Recognized horticultural, silvicultural, range, or wildlife
management practices, involving burning, also are allowed with prior
written permission from Ohio EPA. This permission may take two weeks to
obtain. Ohio EPA is represented by five district offices and nine local air agencies. Click here to find the agency to contact in your area.
3. Fires intended to control disease or pests may be set if the local
health department, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, or the U.S.
Department of Agriculture verifies to Ohio EPA that open burning is the
only appropriate control methods.
Outside a Restricted Area:
1. Agricultural wastes: material generated by crop, horticultural, or livestock production practices. This includes fence posts and scrap lumber but not buildings.
2. Landscape wastes: plant matter such as tree trimmings, branches, stumps, brush, weeds, leaves, grass, shrubbery, yard trimmings, and crop residues.
3. Land-clearing wastes: plant matter that is removed when land is cleared for residential, commercial, or industrial development. This material may be burned only under certain circumstances and with prior written permission from Ohio EPA.
4. Residential waste: wastes such as wood or paper products that are generated by one-, two-, or three-family residences. Garbage may not be open burned.
No open burning can take place within 1,000 feet of an inhabited
building located off the property where the fire is set. Nor can the
fire obscure visibility for roadways, railroad tracks, or air fields.
No wastes generated off the premises may be burned. For example, a
tree-trimming contractor may not haul branches and limbs to another site
to burn them.
Open burning is prohibited when air pollution warnings, alerts, or emergencies are in effect.