Cowlitz County, WA Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

56 CCC, the Campground Binding Site Plan Code, administered by the Building and Planning Department. 100 sets minimum land use and site design standards for every campground in the unincorporated county, covering camping space size, screening, roads, parking, density, and fire safety together. 080, the county's adopted fire code, and adds two specific rules for pits: they must be affixed to the ground rather than loose or portable, and any fire or barbecue pit must sit at least 100 feet back from an exterior property line abutting commercial forest land.

A related density-bonus provision in subsection H also bars fire pits within 100 feet of all exterior property lines when a campground uses extra vegetative screening to raise its density above 15 spaces per gross acre. 15 CCC, before conditions like fire pit placement become part of an approved plan. Preliminary approval runs for five years, with one possible two-year extension. Because this rule sits inside the campground chapter, it governs fire pits at licensed RV parks and campgrounds, not a general backyard fire pit on private residential land outside that use.