Backyard recreational fires are allowed in most Kent County townships if kept small, clean-burning, and supervised. In Grand Rapids Charter Township only dry cut timber may be burned, an extinguishing agent must stay within 10 feet, and the fire must be out by midnight.
Backyard fire rules are township and city ordinances, not county law. Grand Rapids Charter Township Ordinance No. 486 permits recreational fires that are clean-burning and built only from dry cut timber no longer than 24 inches and no larger than four inches in diameter. Burning garbage, yard waste, building materials, or trash in a recreational fire is prohibited. An extinguishing agent — a 4-A fire extinguisher, garden hose, or sand — must be within 10 feet, an adult 21 or older must supervise, and the fire must be extinguished by midnight. The fire department may order any hazardous fire put out.
Violations are municipal civil infractions under the township ordinance: not less than $100 first offense, $250 first repeat, $500 further repeats, plus recovery of fire-suppression costs.
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