Seattle, WA Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)
Fire pit rules in Seattle, WA, also called outdoor burning, recreational fire, or open flame ordinances, cover fuel types, clearances, and when burning is allowed.
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SMC 18.12.270
- Allowed locations
- Designated stove/fire ring or approved Carkeek Park beach
- Curfew
- All park fires banned 11 p.m.–6 a.m.
- Air-quality override
- No fires during Puget Sound air pollution episodes
- Fuel restriction
- Household rubbish banned even in an approved ring
- Enforcement
- Exclusion notice possible under SMC 18.12.278
Summary
SMC 18.12.270 confines fires in Seattle parks to a designated stove or fire ring, or an approved beach-fire area at Carkeek Park, and bans all park fires between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., regardless of location.
It is unlawful (a) to ignite or maintain any fire or to participate in igniting, maintaining or using any fire within any park except in a designated stove or fire ring, or in a beach area at Carkeek Park approved by the Superintendent for beach fires, or (b) to ignite in any stove or fire ring any household rubbish or other material banned from outdoor burning by air pollution control regulations, or (c) to ignite or maintain a fire in any fire ring during any stage on an air pollution episode declared by the Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency. All fires within parks are prohibited between the hours of eleven p.m. (11:00 p.m.) and six a.m. (6:00 a.m.).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
270 is Seattle's park-specific fire ordinance and the only Parks Code provision governing recreational fires. Subsection (a) makes it unlawful to ignite, maintain, or participate in any fire in a park except inside a designated stove or fire ring, with one named exception: beach fires at Carkeek Park in an area the Superintendent has approved for that purpose. There is no separate setback distance written into the section, compliance turns on using an established stove, ring, or the approved Carkeek beach area, which the Superintendent site-plans with its own clearances.
m. m. m. Subsections (b) and (c) layer two further bans onto what may be burned in an approved ring: household rubbish or other material banned from outdoor burning under air pollution control regulations may not be ignited even in a designated stove or ring, and no fire ring use is allowed at all during any stage of an air pollution episode declared by the Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency. The section traces to Ordinance 113436 § 18 (1987) and Ordinance 106615 § 15 (1977), and enforcement runs through the Parks Department's Superintendent and park rangers.
Violations & Fines
A fire outside a designated stove, ring, or the approved Carkeek Park beach area, or any park fire kept burning past 11:00 p.m. or before 6:00 a.m., is a park-rule violation that can draw a citation and, under SMC 18.12.278, a written exclusion notice removing the offender from that park zone for up to 7 days on a first offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I build a campfire on the beach in Seattle?
What time do I have to put out a park fire?
Can I still use a park fire ring during an air pollution advisory?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Seattle
How Seattle compares: Cities with the Strictest Fire Pit Rules·Compare Seattle to another location·View the Washington fire regulations overview
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Fire Pits & Backyard Fires in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle fire pits & backyard fires.