5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Johnson County, Iowa.
Verified from official government sources
Recreational fires are allowed across Johnson County in an approved pit burning clean, dry wood. Iowa City sets firm clearances of 15 feet for a portable pit and 25 feet for a built-in one, requires constant attendance, and bans burning from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Iowa legalized consumer fireworks in 2017, but every Johnson County community sharply limits when you may set them off. Rural unincorporated areas allow July 3 through 5, while Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty permit only a few days around July 4 and New Year's, never on public property.
Iowa Code § 727.2(3)(c)(1)
A person who uses or explodes consumer fireworks or novelties while the use of such devices is prohibited or limited by an ordinance adopted by the county or city in which the fireworks are used commits a simple misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars
Johnson County has no defensible-space or brush-clearance mandate. This is eastern Iowa farmland and prairie with a humid climate, so wildfire risk is low. Overgrown lots are handled as a weed and nuisance matter, not a fire rule.
Iowa's DNR bans open burning of combustible materials by default, allowing landscape waste only on the premises where it grew. Iowa City goes further and prohibits open burning of leaves, yard waste, and trash inside the city, so residents use municipal collection.
Iowa Admin. Code r. 567-23.2(1)
No person shall allow, cause or permit open burning of combustible materials, except as provided in 23.2(2) and 23.2(3).
Iowa designates no regulatory wildfire hazard zones, and Johnson County has none. There is no wildland-urban-interface building code and no defensible-space mandate. Flat farmland and a humid climate keep large wildfires rare, though dry-season grass fires do occur.
1 cities in Johnson County have their own fire regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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