Lyon County, NV Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Lyon County Code chapter 270 generally requires a permit from the Fire Protection District with jurisdiction before any open fire, defined at section 15.270.01 as combustion emitted to the atmosphere without passing through a stack or chimney. Section 15.270.06, titled 'Exceptions To Provisions,' carves out recreational and utility fires from that permit requirement: outdoor fires used 'for heating, cooking or branding in an appropriate approved fireplace or appliance' may burn in each Fire District at any time without a permit, except when the Fire Chief or an authorized designee of the district with jurisdiction restricts them.

That means a backyard fire pit or similar appliance used for cooking or warmth does not need the burn permit that section 15.270.02 requires for weed abatement, agricultural or ceremonial fires, but the appliance itself must be an 'appropriate approved fireplace or appliance,' not an open pile or barrel. The exception can be pulled back at any time: each Fire District sets its own burning hours under section 15.270.05 and can require callers to confirm burning is allowed that day, and the district's Fire Chief retains authority under section 15.270.07 to extinguish any fire, including an exempt one, without further legal process if it becomes a hazard.

Burning garbage, trash, plastics or other hydrocarbon materials remains banned in a fire pit exactly as in any other open fire, under section 15.270.09, regardless of the heating-and-cooking exception.