Buncombe County, NC Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Buncombe County's open-burning rules, part of the county fire prevention ordinance, treat different kinds of outdoor fire differently. A recreational fire, the small contained fire people build for warmth or cooking in a backyard fire pit, cannot be conducted within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material, and anything that could let the fire spread within that 25 feet has to be cleared away before it is lit, under Sec. 30-49(i). That is a lighter standard than a bonfire, which needs a full 50-foot clearance from any structure plus a permit and inspection from the fire code official before it happens, under Sec.

30-49(h). A portable outdoor fireplace, the manufactured kind sold for patios, only needs 15 feet of clearance and manufacturer-instruction compliance, and is exempt from that distance rule entirely at one- and two-family dwellings, under Sec. 30-49(j). Every category, including recreational fires, must be constantly attended until fully extinguished and kept near a portable fire extinguisher rated at least 4-A, or other on-site equipment such as dirt, sand, a water barrel, garden hose, or water container, under Sec. 30-49(k). All open burning, including recreational fires, must also comply with the Asheville-Buncombe Air Quality Agency Code, and the county fire marshal can declare a countywide open-burn ban whenever atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make fires hazardous, under Sec. 30-49(a)-(b). State law and any conflicting state fire code provision override this section where the two conflict.