Recreational backyard fires are allowed under DEP rules when used solely for cooking or recreation, but the specific setbacks and container rules come from your borough or township, not York County. A countywide burn ban overrides everything during dry spells.
PA DEP's open-burning regulation (25 Pa. Code Sec. 129.14) exempts fires set solely for cooking food and for recreational or ceremonial purposes, so small, contained backyard recreational fires are generally permitted. However, the enforceable details, distance from structures and property lines, size limits, attendance, and what may be burned, are set by each municipality under the Municipalities Planning Code. Burning household trash or garbage is not a recreational fire and is prohibited. When the York County Commissioners declare a burn ban, all backyard fires (including fire pits and burn barrels) are banned countywide, though charcoal and propane grills remain allowed.
Municipal ordinances impose the fines for illegal backyard fires. During a county burn ban, an illegal fire is a summary offense with fines of $100 to $300, enforced by any sworn police officer.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
York County, PA
The York County Solid Waste Authority actively encourages backyard composting and mulch-mowing and runs a county yard-waste drop-off at the Resource Recovery...
York County, PA
York County has no rule on artificial turf. Whether synthetic grass is allowed, and any permit or stormwater requirement, is decided by your borough, city, o...
York County, PA
York County does not require or ban native-plant landscaping. Native meadows and pollinator gardens are legal and encouraged, but any 'natural landscaping' e...
York County, PA
Pennsylvania places no restriction on collecting rainwater, and York County does not ban it. Rain barrels and cisterns for garden use are legal statewide; la...
York County, PA
York County imposes no countywide lawn-watering restriction. Limits, if any, are set by your water supplier (such as the York Water Company) or your municipa...
York County, PA
York County has no countywide weed ordinance. Noxious weeds and overgrown vegetation are declared a nuisance and abated by your borough, the City of York, or...
See how York County's backyard fires rules stack up against other locations.
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