James City County, VA Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Section 9-3(2)(a) amends the adopted Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code to permit recreational fires countywide without requiring a permit, subject to the 25-foot clearance from structures and combustible material. The code's definition in section 9-2 keeps a recreational fire small: fuel not contained in an incinerator, outdoor fireplace, portable outdoor fireplace, barbeque grill, or barbeque pit, with a total fuel area of three feet or less in diameter and two feet or less in height, used for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth, or similar purposes.

00 under section 9-3(1)(b)(4). Household debris burning is a separate, narrower category: it must stay 25 feet from structures and combustible material, be contained in a burn barrel or similar apparatus, and be limited to pieces no larger than two feet in any dimension, and it cannot be used for general waste disposal. Across all these open-burning categories, section 9-3(2)(g) gives the fire official broad authority to order the extinguishment of any fire that creates or contributes to a hazardous or objectionable condition, regardless of atmospheric conditions or the type of permit involved.

The fire prevention code is enforced countywide by the fire official, defined as the county fire marshal or an authorized representative, under the direction of the fire chief who heads the James City County fire department. Because recreational fires need no permit application or fire department site inspection before the fact, compliance turns entirely on the 25-foot placement rule and the fire official's after-the-fact hazard authority, rather than any advance approval process like the one required for bonfires or land-clearing debris burns.