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

Concord's open-burning ordinance, Sec. 34-4(b), bans open burning citywide, but Sec. 34-4(c)(2) carves out an exception for open fires used for cooking, heating, religious, and ceremonial purposes. Those fires cannot be built mostly of leaves or yard waste, must be located and contained so smoke and fumes do not become a nuisance to neighbors, and must follow the North Carolina Fire Code. The fire itself has to sit inside a campfire pit that meets the code's size limits for a pile or stack: three feet or less in diameter and two feet or less in height (Sec.

34-4(a)), or be confined in a container no larger than a 55-gallon drum. Only naturally cut wood, charcoal, propane, or natural gas may fuel the fire; construction or building materials are never allowed. A larger bonfire, public or private, needs a permit approved at the fire department's discretion under Sec. 34-4(c)(3). Approval turns on the fire's proximity to dwellings, trees, woods, and other structures, available fire-management facilities, atmospheric conditions, and fuel type (naturally cut wood three inches or smaller in diameter, again no construction debris).

A permitted bonfire cannot exceed five feet by five feet by five feet and cannot burn longer than three hours. Failing to keep a bonfire within these limits is treated as an extinguishment failure and grounds for the fire department to revoke the permit on the spot.