The Baldwin County burn ban runs every year from May 1 through October 31, when the Alabama Department of Environmental Management prohibits open burning of vegetation and untreated wood countywide under Administrative Code Rule 335-3-3-.01.1Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 335-3-3-.01 – Open Burning Outside those six months, burning yard debris and untreated wood is legal with the right permit and setbacks. Materials like plastic, rubber, and treated lumber are off-limits year-round, and violations range from a Class B misdemeanor up to a Class C felony carrying one to ten years in prison.
The May Through October Ban
From May 1 through October 31, you cannot conduct open burning in Baldwin County for land clearing, yard debris disposal, or similar purposes.1Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 335-3-3-.01 – Open Burning ADEM enforces this ban automatically each year without a separate announcement. The dates don’t move.
Some fires stay legal even during the ban. Campfires, outdoor fireplaces, and cooking fires are allowed as long as they’re contained. Agricultural and silvicultural burns may also be approved during the ban period, but only with prior approval from both ADEM and the Alabama Forestry Commission.1Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 335-3-3-.01 – Open Burning
What You Can and Cannot Burn Year-Round
The material rules apply every day of the year, not just during the seasonal ban. Only vegetation and untreated wood may go into an open fire. Everything on this list is prohibited at all times:1Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 335-3-3-.01 – Open Burning
- Household trash and garbage, including paper, cardboard, and food waste
- Plastics and vinyl
- Rubber, natural or synthetic, including tires
- Construction debris such as treated or painted wood, shingles, insulation, and salvage materials
- Chemicals and heavy oils, including asphalt products
This catches people off guard. Even in November, you can’t toss old furniture, roofing scraps, or a busted plastic tote onto a brush pile. Those go to a landfill or a permitted disposal facility.
Several kinds of fire stay legal all year, including during the summer ban: cooking fires on non-commercial property, recreational and ceremonial fires like campfires and bonfires, warming fires for construction workers fueled by wood, coal, propane, or kerosene, burns for disease and pest control, permitted agricultural and wildlife management burns, and burns to eliminate a fire hazard that the local fire department has formally declared.1Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 335-3-3-.01 – Open Burning
Recreational fires have a size limit most people miss. Under the Alabama Fire Code, the total fuel area cannot exceed three feet in diameter and two feet in height.2UpCodes. Alabama Fire Code 2009 – General Requirements A backyard bonfire bigger than that has slipped out of the recreational exception.
Land Clearing Burns From November Through April
Between November 1 and April 30, open burning of vegetation and untreated wood is allowed for land clearing and development, including construction, utility line installation, road maintenance, and development of recreational or commercial areas.1Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 335-3-3-.01 – Open Burning These burns still have to meet setback and safety rules, and a permit is required if the burn area is a quarter acre or more.
Setbacks, Safety, and Neighbor Notice
When burning is allowed, the fire must be at least 500 feet from the nearest occupied dwelling other than your own home.1Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 335-3-3-.01 – Open Burning That single rule is what rules out open burning for most residential lots in Baldwin County subdivisions. If any neighbor’s house is within 500 feet of your intended burn spot, you cannot legally burn there.
You also have to clear flammable material from the ground around the fire for a safe distance in every direction, and you must stay with the fire until it’s completely out. Walking away from an active fire is itself a Class B misdemeanor.3Alabama Forestry Commission. Alabama Burn Law Have water, a shovel, and a rake on site before you light anything.
Alabama Code Section 9-13-13 requires five days’ written notice to adjacent landowners before you burn woods, brush, grass, or debris near any forest or woodland, unless you take every possible precaution against the fire spreading. Notifying your local fire department beforehand is a good idea as well.4Alabama Forestry Commission. Get a Permit Before You Burn
Getting a Burn Permit
Alabama requires a burn permit from the Alabama Forestry Commission for any prescribed burn done for agricultural or silvicultural purposes.5Alabama Forestry Commission. Burn Permits For a fire smaller than a quarter acre, no permit is needed. Anything larger, call AFC dispatch at (800) 392-5679. Certified Prescribed Burn Managers can request permits online through the AFC burn permit portal.
Some cities and municipalities in Baldwin County issue their own burn permits on top of the state requirement.4Alabama Forestry Commission. Get a Permit Before You Burn Check with your local fire department. Holding a state permit does not excuse you from a required local one.
Drought Emergencies and No-Burn Orders
Two weather triggers can shut down burning outside the seasonal window. No open burning is allowed during a National Weather Service air stagnation advisory or during a drought emergency declared by the Governor.1Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 335-3-3-.01 – Open Burning A Governor-declared drought emergency bans all outdoor burning statewide and stays in effect until the State Forester rescinds the order.
The Alabama Forestry Commission can also issue a “no burn order” when fire danger climbs. A no-burn order removes every exception, including campfires and grills, depending on the order’s exact language. Check the AFC and ADEM websites before you burn.
Criminal Penalties
Alabama Code Section 9-13-11 sets three tiers of criminal penalties for fire offenses, and they carry real jail time.3Alabama Forestry Commission. Alabama Burn Law
- A Class B misdemeanor covers most violations: burning without reasonable precautions, allowing a fire to escape, failing to clear flammable material, and leaving a fire before it’s out. Up to six months in jail.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-7 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors
- A Class A misdemeanor applies when someone recklessly or with wanton disregard sets fire to forest, grass, or woodlands on land they don’t own or control, without the owner’s permission. Up to one year in jail.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-7 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors
- A Class C felony applies to anyone who willfully, maliciously, or intentionally sets fire to woodlands, grasslands, or similar vegetation. One to ten years in prison.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 13A Criminal Code 13A-5-6 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Felonies
The line between misdemeanor and felony usually turns on intent. A brush pile that got away from you despite reasonable care sits in misdemeanor territory. Deliberately lighting a neighbor’s field crosses into felony territory.
Civil Liability if Your Fire Escapes
Criminal charges are only half of it. If your fire escapes and damages someone else’s property, you owe the cost of that damage. Alabama courts have long held that anyone who sets a fire, even lawfully on their own land, is liable when the fire spreads because of negligence in starting or controlling it. The standard is ordinary and reasonable care under the conditions, meaning you have to account for dry weather, wind, and how close the neighbors are.
Alabama’s Prescribed Burning Act offers some liability protection for burns that meet its requirements, but only if you exercised the care expected of others in the same situation. A careless prescribed burn that escapes still exposes you to a lawsuit. Government agencies that respond to suppress an escaped fire can also pursue cost recovery for their firefighting expenses.
Reporting an Illegal Burn
Call 911 for any active fire that threatens structures or looks out of control. For non-emergencies like a neighbor burning trash or burning during the summer ban, contact the Alabama Forestry Commission or your local fire department. AFC dispatch is (800) 392-5679.5Alabama Forestry Commission. Burn Permits Note the location, what appears to be burning, and the time. ADEM handles air quality complaints related to open burning through the agency’s main contact channels.