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

030 is Edmonds' outdoor burning ordinance, and subsection (C) carves out the exceptions that let a homeowner have a fire pit or small cooking fire without a permit. 'Outdoor burning' is defined broadly in subsection (A) as the combustion of material of any type in an open fire or an outdoor container, which would otherwise sweep in backyard fire pits. Subsection (C) then exempts, among other things, small cooking fires consisting solely of charcoal, natural gas, propane or seasoned natural wood, plus campfires at designated state, county and city campgrounds, and recreational and ceremonial fires that are defined and regulated by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency rather than by the city itself.

Importantly, these exemptions do not apply during active air quality burn bans designated by Snohomish County; when the county calls a burn ban, even an otherwise-exempt cooking or recreational fire becomes unlawful. The ordinance imposes no minimum setback distance of its own for exempt fires, and no fire permit is required for activities that fall within these listed conditions. But the exemption is not unconditional: any fire, exempt or not, that creates a nuisance or impairs air quality must be extinguished immediately. Because recreational and ceremonial fires are regulated by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency rather than spelled out further in city code, a resident planning a larger bonfire-style fire should check that agency's own rules for size, fuel and distance requirements before lighting one.