Lincoln County, SD Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Section 90.02(E) of the Lincoln County Code, titled careless burning, is the provision that actually governs everyday outdoor and recreational fires rather than emergency-wide burn bans. It declares it a nuisance to burn within any unincorporated area of the county without first contacting the county's Communications Director to notify that office of the specific location and exact time of the burning activity, and it separately prohibits burning in a manner, or without reasonable safeguards, that lets sparks, flames, hot ashes, or embers escape and risk spreading fire.

Every open fire covered by the division must be attended by one or more people at all times while sparks, flames, or hot ashes are present. The division exempts two things from its reach: a fire maintained in an interior fireplace, stove, or furnace, and the burning of any substance in a 55-gallon barrel or barrel of smaller size, which functions as the code's allowance for a small backyard burn barrel or fire pit without triggering the notification and attendance duties that apply to larger open fires.

Enforcement follows the rest of Chapter 90: the Planning Director enforces the chapter under § 90.03 with Sheriff's Department assistance available, a written notice to abate is required under § 90.05 before further action, and failing to abate within the notice period is independently unlawful under § 90.06. Any violation, including an unattended or unreported open fire that is not barrel-sized, carries the § 90.99 Class 2 misdemeanor penalty of up to 30 days in jail, a $200 fine, or both.