La Grange, MO Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Section 215.196 treats campfires as one of six narrow exemptions to the citywide open-burning ban. Subsection C(5) states that campfires shall be permitted on permitted properties owned or leased by the City of LaGrange, Missouri, meaning a private backyard fire pit does not qualify under this specific exemption unless it also fits the separate recreational-purposes exemption in Subsection C(2), which allows fires used solely for recreational purposes in permitted areas generally. Either way, every recreational fire in the City is subject to Subsection D's dimensional limits.

Subsection D(5) requires the burning site to sit at least twenty feet from any building or other structure, including fences, and Subsection D(6) caps any fire's size at no more than eighteen feet in diameter and six feet in height. The same restrictions that apply to all open burning carry over to fire pits: the fire cannot produce smoke that impairs driver visibility, cannot be located on a City street, alley or sidewalk, cannot burn tires or waste oil, and must be attended at all times by a competent person at least sixteen years old.

The list of properties where campfires and recreational fires are permitted is kept on file at City Hall rather than printed in the Code, and the LaGrange Police Department and Chief Fire Officials enforce the section under Subsection E. The provision dates to Ordinance No. 423, adopted January 13, 2003.