Kauai County, HI Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Kaua'i County Code § 15A-2.2(12) amends NFPA 1 Section 10.10.1.1 to place recreational, decorative, and ceremonial fires, the category that covers a backyard fire pit, luau torch fire, or bonfire, in item 2 of the county's open burning rules. Before lighting such a fire, the responsible person must obtain written permission from the property owner and submit a letter to the Authority Having Jurisdiction at least 14 days before the event stating the date, time, and location of the fire. Immediately before lighting, the person responsible must also telephone the fire dispatch center's non-emergency number 15 minutes ahead, the same call-ahead rule that applies to fires for cooking food such as an imu under item 1 of the same section.

These recreational-fire rules sit apart from the county's harder-edged fire hazard abatement permit in item 3, which additionally requires a two-acre minimum site, an eight-foot burn pile cap, and daytime-only burning; a fire pit used purely for recreation, decoration, or a ceremony does not need those larger-lot or burn-pile conditions, only the 14-day letter and the property owner's consent. Section 15A-2.2(11) still lets the Authority Having Jurisdiction prohibit any open burning, including a recreational fire pit, whenever it determines the fires are a fire hazard, for example during dry, high-wind conditions or a declared fire danger period.