8 rules for unincorporated McHenry County, Illinois.
Verified from official government sources
A recreational fire, defined as an outdoor fire no larger than 3'x3'x3' for warmth or cooking, needs no permit in McHenry County. It may not burn leaves, grass, or shrubbery clippings. Stricter city rules override the county rule.
Illinois bans consumer fireworks statewide. In McHenry County you may not possess, sell, use, or explode firecrackers, bottle rockets, or Roman candles. Only novelties like sparklers, snakes, and party poppers are legal, and cities may restrict even those.
425 ILCS 30/2
snake or glow worm pellets; smoke devices; sparklers; trick noisemakers known as 'party poppers', 'booby traps', 'snappers', 'trick matches', 'cigarette loads' and 'auto burglar alarms'; ... the sale and use of which shall be permitted at all times
McHenry County sets no wildfire defensible-space or brush-clearance requirement; Illinois is not a mapped wildfire state. Overgrown brush and tall weeds are handled as nuisance and weed violations, and clearing brush by burning is limited to designated landscape-waste burn days.
You may open-burn landscape waste in McHenry County only on Saturdays and Sundays in April, May, October, and November, dawn to dusk, and only when wind is under 10 mph. Burning garbage, trash, or construction debris is banned at all times.
McHenry County has no designated wildfire or wildland-urban-interface zones and no defensible-space or fire-hazard-severity requirements. Illinois is not a mapped wildfire state, so there are no brush-clearance or fire-resistant-construction mandates tied to wildfire risk.
Illinois law requires a working smoke detector within 15 feet of every sleeping room and on every story of a home, including basements. Since January 1, 2023, newly installed alarms must have sealed 10-year batteries.
425 ILCS 60/3
Every dwelling unit or hotel shall be equipped with at least one approved smoke detector in an operating condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes. Every single family residence shall have at least one approved smoke detector installed on every story of the dwelling unit, including basements but not including unoccupied attics.
Small backyard recreational fires are legal without a permit in McHenry County. A larger ceremonial fire or bonfire, meaning anything over 3'x3'x3', requires a free permit from the County Department of Health. Cities may set stricter rules.
McHenry County has no special residential propane-storage ordinance. Home propane tanks and grill cylinders are governed by the fire code (IFC and NFPA 58) enforced by your local fire protection district. Store cylinders outdoors, upright, away from ignition sources.
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