Albemarle County, VA Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Albemarle County's open burning ordinance, rewritten by Ord. No. 26-6(1) on January 14, 2026, gives fire pits, campfires and cooking fires their own permit-free category. County Code § 6-403 defines "Recreational Open Burning" as an outdoor, controlled fire no greater than nine square feet in ground surface area and/or two feet in height, built for enjoyment, warmth or ambiance and used for camping, socializing or relaxing outdoors, typically in a fixed or portable outdoor fireplace, fire pit or fire ring. Section 6-406(B) allows that fire without a permit from the Fire Official and without any notification through the County Emergency Communications Center, so long as the fuel is seasoned dry firewood ignited with a small quantity of paper, the fire is not used to dispose of waste, and no trash, oil, tires or refuse are burned.

The fire pit, campfire or open container fire such as a burn barrel must sit at least 25 feet from any building or structure on the property where the burning occurs. The same article separately regulates larger "bonfires" and yard-debris "residential open burning," which carry their own size caps, longer setback distances and a notification requirement, so a resident planning anything bigger than a contained fire pit should confirm which category applies first. Open burning of any kind is barred outright when weather or local conditions make it hazardous, and the Fire Official can order any fire extinguished that becomes a nuisance or a threat to public health.

These rules sit in Chapter 6, Article IV rather than the zoning ordinance, so they apply the same way across the rural areas and residential districts of the county outside Charlottesville and the Town of Scottsville.