Fire Regulations in Shawnee County, KS (2026)
3 rules for unincorporated Shawnee County, Kansas.
Verified from official government sources
Fire Pits & Backyard Fires
A backyard fire pit, outdoor fireplace, or barbecue used for cooking, warmth, or pleasure counts as a "recreational fire" under Shawnee County Code Sec. 17-21, and it needs no burn permit or advance call-in. Section 17-26 still requires an attendant of "suitable age and discretion" and fire-extinguishing equipment on hand from ignition to extinguishment, and bars lighting one during a red-flag warning.
Shawnee County Recreational Fire Pit Rules
Light RestrictionsShawnee County Code Secs. 17-21, 17-26
Recreational fire means the open burning of materials other than stubble, trash, debris, vegetation, leaves, or brush, for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth or similar purpose, where the fuel being burned is not contained in an incinerator, but in an outdoor fireplace, barbeque grill, barbeque pit, or chimney. ... (a)Any person may initiate, participate in, allow, and/or conduct ...
Fireworks
In unincorporated Shawnee County, fireworks may only be discharged from June 27 through July 4, between 8:00 a.m. and midnight, under the county's noise ordinance, Code Sec. 23-224(1). Setting them off outside that window, or at any other time of year, is treated as an unlawful loud and disturbing noise, punishable under an escalating fine schedule in Sec. 23-226.
Shawnee County Fireworks Date and Time Limits
Some RestrictionsShawnee County Code Secs. 23-224, 23-226
The following acts are declared to be loud, disturbing, and unnecessary noises in violation of this article: (1)Fireworks. The discharge, explosion, or use of any fireworks is prohibited except from June 27 to July 4, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight. ... If any person is convicted of any violation of this article, the following fines and penalties shall be imposed:(1)For the fi...
Outdoor Burning
Open burning, including controlled agricultural burns, is unlawful anywhere in unincorporated Shawnee County unless a burn permit is obtained from the local fire district or the burn fits a listed exception like a recreational fire. County Code Sec. 17-22, rewritten by Resolution No. HR-2025-4 on December 29, 2025, also lets the county issue an emergency burn ban that makes any burning a strict-liability violation.
Shawnee County Open Burning Ban Rules
Significant RestrictionsShawnee County Code Secs. 17-22, 17-27
(a)Except as expressly authorized in this article and unless expressly allowed elsewhere in the Shawnee County Code, it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly initiate, participate in, allow, and/or conduct open burning, including but not limited to controlled burning, in the county.(b)Except as expressly authorized in this article and unless expressly allowed elsewhere in the Shawnee Co...
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