Apple Valley, MN Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Apple Valley Code of Ordinances § 93.31 defines a recreational fire site as an area no more than three feet by three feet by three feet, completely surrounded by non-combustible material such as natural rock, cement, brick, tile, blocks or ferrous metal. Permanent outdoor wood-burning fireplaces and freestanding, manufactured fire pits are included. The site must sit 25 feet from any combustible structure and 15 feet from the property line. The code defines structures to include a house, garage, shed, deck or fence, so the 25-foot measurement runs to all of those, not only the dwelling.

Section 93.32 sets the operating rules. An adult must stay in the immediate vicinity until the fire is out. A fire extinguisher or a garden hose attached to a working water spigot must be readily available. No fire is allowed when winds are greater than 15 miles per hour. Any complaint about smoke is cause for immediate extinguishment, and every fire is subject to discontinuance at the direction of the Fire or Police Department. No wood burned in a recreational fire can exceed three feet in length, and the fuel has to be dry, clean wood such as twigs, branches, limbs, cord wood or untreated dimensional lumber. Green, rotten, wet, oil-soaked or paint, glue or preservative-treated wood is excluded, and the materials banned by § 93.42 cannot go in the fire.

No fire can be burned in a public right-of-way or on public property, except that a recreational fire is allowed on public property where designated. Under § 93.43 a recreational fire does not need the open burn permit that other outdoor burning requires. Section 93.46(D) still applies: no recreational fire is permitted when the city or the DNR has declared a burning ban, or when the MPCA has declared an Air Quality Alert. The Apple Valley Fire Department enforces the chapter, with the Police Department also able to order a fire out.