Backyard recreational fires are legal in Hamilton County but must follow both IDEM's clean-wood recreational-fire exemption and your city's campfire ordinance. In Carmel, residential burning must occur between sunrise and sunset, stay attended, use only untreated wood, and sit 25 feet from anything combustible.
Backyard fires are governed by IDEM's open-burning rule (326 IAC 4-1) plus city ordinances. Statewide, a recreational fire may burn only clean wood, paper, charcoal, and clean petroleum products, must be attended, and may not be used for trash disposal. Carmel adds that all residential burning shall occur between sunrise and sunset (fires may be replenished, but all burning material must be consumed by sunset), campfires must be 25 feet from combustible structures, capped in size, monitored constantly, and burn commercial fire-starters and untreated wood only. Wind must generally be between 5 and 15 mph. Fishers, Westfield, and Noblesville have similar campfire limits. Under the Indiana Fire Code, a fire chief is authorized to require open burning be immediately discontinued
In Carmel, violations of the open-burning law carry a fine of up to $500 each. A neighbor's confirmed smoke complaint can make a backyard fire a nuisance subject to shutdown. During a county burn ban, all recreational backyard fires are
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See how Hamilton County's backyard fires rules stack up against other locations.
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