Amarillo, TX Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)
Fire pit rules in Amarillo, TX, also called outdoor burning, recreational fire, or open flame ordinances, cover fuel types, clearances, and when burning is allowed.
Key Facts
- The rule
- Recreational fires banned within Amarillo city limits
- No exceptions
- Backyard fire pits and bonfires included, no carve-out
- Code basis
- 2021 IFC Amendment Sec. 307.4.2 (Code Sec. 10-2-16)
- Cooking devices differ
- Grills/smokers governed separately under Sec. 308.1.4
- Lawful burns
- Only City-run hazard-mitigation burns, Sec. 10-2-55/56
- Penalty
- Up to $2,000 fine per day, Sec. 1-1-5(b)
- Enforcer
- Amarillo Fire Marshal
Summary
Amarillo's Fire Code amendments prohibit recreational fires anywhere inside the city limits. Backyard fire pits, bonfires, and similar open burning aren't permitted within Amarillo proper, per Sec. 10-2-16's 2021 International Fire Code amendment 307.4.2. The Amarillo Fire Marshal enforces the ban under the same fire-code penalty structure that covers the rest of Chapter 10-2.
There is hereby adopted the 2021 edition of the International Fire Code, (published by the International Code Council), including Appendices B, C, and D with the following amendments... [Amend] 307.4.2 Recreational Fires. A recreational fire shall not be conducted within the city limits of Amarillo.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 81).
Full Breakdown
2 states a recreational fire shall not be conducted within the city limits of Amarillo, with no exception carved out in the amendment's text for backyard fire pits, chimineas, or bonfires. 4's rule on open-flame cooking and heating devices, which allows smokers, grills, and outdoor fireplaces to operate outside the 'recreational fire' category so long as they stay off combustible balconies and decks and keep 10 feet of clearance from combustible construction; a resident cannot use the cooking-device rule to justify a bonfire or fire pit that isn't tied to food preparation.
The only lawful open burning inside city limits runs through a different mechanism entirely: the Rural/Urban Interface Hazard Mitigation Program at Sec. 10-2-55 and 10-2-56, which lets the City itself conduct authorized burns of land the Fire Chief's advisory group has flagged as a public hazard because of excessive weeds, under strict wind-speed and daylight-hour limits. That program does not give an individual property owner authority to set a recreational fire; it is a City-run hazard-abatement burn, approved case by case by the Amarillo Fire Chief.
Outside that narrow channel, any open flame conducted for recreation, from a firepit at a backyard gathering to a bonfire, is prohibited everywhere inside the city limits.
Violations & Fines
A recreational fire inside city limits violates a fire-safety provision of the Code, which Sec. 1-1-5(b) punishes by a fine of up to $2,000.00, with each day a fire is maintained or repeated counted as a separate offense. The Amarillo Fire Marshal enforces Section 307.4.2 alongside the rest of the adopted 2021 International Fire Code amendments in Sec. 10-2-16.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have a fire pit in my Amarillo backyard?
Is a portable propane fire pit treated differently from a wood bonfire?
Does this ban cover grilling or smoking meat outdoors?
Are agricultural or hazard-reduction burns ever allowed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Amarillo
How Amarillo compares: Cities with the Strictest Fire Pit Rules·Texas rules heatmap·Compare Amarillo to another location·View the Texas fire regulations overview
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