Portage County, WI Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)
Fire pit rules in Portage County, WI, also called outdoor burning, recreational fire, or open flame ordinances, cover fuel types, clearances, and when burning is allowed.
Key Facts
- Fire allowed
- Only at designated fireplaces, fire rings or grills
- Portable stove exception
- Cooking/heating stoves in designated campgrounds/picnic areas
- Fireworks
- Fully banned in every county park
- Base forfeiture
- $30.00 fire, $40.00 fireworks
- Total with surcharges
- $175.30 fire, $187.90 fireworks
Summary
In Portage County parks, fires are confined by Code § 6.1.6(1) to designated fireplaces, fire rings or grills, with an exception only for portable stoves, heaters or grills used for cooking or heating in designated campgrounds and picnic areas. Unattended or unextinguished fires are also banned.
(1)Fires.(a)No person shall start, tend, or maintain any fire, or burn any refuse, except at designated fireplaces, fire rings, or grills within any county park, except that fires for cooking or heating may be made in portable stoves, heaters or grills at designated campgrounds and picnic areas.(b)No person shall leave any fire unattended, or throw away matches, cigarettes, cigars, or pipe ashes or any embers without first extinguishing them, or abandon any fire.
Full Breakdown
Section 6.1.6, 'Fires and Fireworks,' governs every open flame on Portage County park property. Subsection (1)(a) states that no person shall start, tend, or maintain any fire, or burn any refuse, except at designated fireplaces, fire rings, or grills within any county park, carving out only one exception: fires for cooking or heating made in portable stoves, heaters or grills at designated campgrounds and picnic areas. Subsection (1)(b) separately bars leaving a fire unattended or discarding matches, cigarettes, cigars or pipe ashes without fully extinguishing them, and bars abandoning a fire outright.
The same section, subsection (2), extends to fireworks: no person may possess, fire, discharge or explode any squib, cracker or other explosive or pyrotechnic device within any county park, a flat ban with no seasonal or permit exception written into the code. Camping rules layer on top of the fire restriction: campground quiet hours run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. under § 6.1.11(2)(n), and § 6.1.4(2)(c) requires charcoal residue to be left in a grate or fireplace until cool, or placed in a receptacle provided for that purpose, tying the fire rule to the county's litter enforcement.
Because a fire pit brought from home is not itself a 'designated fireplace, fire ring, or grill,' the operative question in a Portage County park is always whether the county, not the visitor, installed and marked the fire feature being used.
Violations & Fines
Starting, tending or maintaining a fire outside a designated fireplace, fire ring or grill carries a $30.00 base forfeiture under the county's citation schedule, totaling $175.30 with court costs and surcharges. Possessing or setting off fireworks in a park is treated more seriously, at a $40.00 base forfeiture totaling $187.90. Under § 6.1.13(3), an unresolved forfeiture can be referred for prosecution, exposing the violator to up to 30 days in the Portage County Jail in default and possible banishment from county parks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bring my own fire pit to a Portage County park?
Are fireworks allowed at any Portage County park?
What's the penalty for an unattended campfire in a county park?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Portage County
How Portage County compares: Cities with the Strictest Fire Pit Rules·Compare Portage County to another location·View the Wisconsin fire regulations overview
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