Coon Rapids, MN Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

City Code Section 12-415(4) defines a lawful backyard fire narrowly. The fire must be lit with an approved starter fuel, stay no more than three feet in height, burn only dry, clean wood, and be tended at all times by someone at least 18 years old. An extinguisher, bucket, shovel or garden hose has to sit within 10 feet of the fire, only one recreational fire is allowed per property at a time, and no burning is permitted once sustained winds top 15 miles per hour based on weather-channel reports.

The recreational fire site itself is capped at a three-foot-diameter circle, fully ringed by non-combustible material such as rock, cement, brick, tile, block or ferrous metal, and Section 12-415(4)(d) fixes the site at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material; burning barrels do not qualify as a recreational fire site. Under Section 12-415(13), the designated fire official can declare a burning ban when conditions turn hazardous, and no recreational fire is permitted once the City or the Minnesota DNR declares one, or when the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issues an air quality alert.

A police officer or the fire official can order an existing fire extinguished if the smoke becomes objectionable beyond the property line, and once ordered out, the fire cannot be relit for at least 12 hours. Because a compliant fire meets the Section 12-415(4)(b) definition, it is not treated as regulated open burning and needs no separate permit; anything larger, closer to a structure, or outside the allowed hours falls outside the exemption entirely.