Fire Pit Season: Rules You Might Not Know About

The backyard fire pit has become a suburban staple, but most people light their first fire without checking whether it is legal. Spoiler: it almost certainly is legal, but with conditions that vary wildly by city.

Size and setback rules are universal — and specific

Nearly every city caps recreational fire pits at 3 feet in diameter and requires 15 feet of clearance from any structure, fence, or overhead branch. Those numbers come from the International Fire Code, which most U.S. cities have adopted in some form. But here is the part people miss: the 15-foot rule includes your own house, your neighbor's fence, and that wooden pergola you just built. Measure before you place the pit.

Air quality days are a real thing

In Denver, Phoenix, and much of the West, "no burn" days are declared when air quality drops below a threshold. During these advisories, all wood-burning fires are off limits — including that little fire pit on your patio. Gas fire pits get a pass because they do not produce the same particulates. If you live in a city with winter inversions or wildfire smoke concerns, check air quality before lighting up between October and March.

Fuel matters more than you think

Clean, dry firewood and manufactured fire logs are the only legal fuels for residential fire pits in every city we track. Burning trash, painted wood, plywood, treated lumber, or yard clippings is illegal everywhere and can bring fines from both your fire department and your county air quality board. The smoke from treated wood is genuinely toxic — this is not just a bureaucratic rule.

Apartments and condos: probably not

If you live in a multi-family building, open flames on balconies are almost universally prohibited. This includes charcoal grills, fire pits, and in many cases even candles on balconies. Small propane grills may be allowed depending on your building's rules and your city's fire code, but check with management. Phoenix, Denver, and Chicago all explicitly ban open flames on apartment balconies.

When your neighbor complains

Fire pits generate two kinds of complaints: smoke and noise. The smoke question is usually handled under air quality rules. The noise from a fire pit gathering falls under your city's regular quiet hours. A group of eight people around a fire at 11 PM on a Thursday will trigger the same noise response as a party — because it basically is one.