Forsyth County, GA Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Section 38-49(r) singles out fire pits and outdoor fireplace structures on residential lots for their own siting rule inside the county's broader outdoor-burning ordinance: any open fire pit must sit a minimum of 25 feet from any structure, and the installation must otherwise comply with the requirements of the Forsyth County Unified Development Code, Appendix A to the Code. to one hour before sunset under subsection (h), and it is subject to the seasonal restriction in subsection (g), which keeps recreational and cooking fires on the allowed list even during the May-through-September burn-down months when most other categories are shut off.

Subsection (m) gives the Forsyth County Fire Department authority to order any fire, including a fire pit, extinguished if it becomes a danger to public safety, a danger to property, a nuisance, or a sign of environmental harm, and subsection (p) puts responsibility for compliance on whoever controls the property at the time of the burn, requiring a competent attendant at least 16 years old able to extinguish the fire throughout. A neighboring outdoor fireplace, chimenea or fire bowl instead falls under the separate materials and clearance rule in subsection (s).