Polk County, FL Fire Regulations: Fire Pits & Backyard Fires (2026)

Polk County's Fire Department Burn Ban Ordinance (Sec. ) does not set an affirmative permit or setback requirement for a backyard fire pit; instead it defines a 'recreational fire' as noncommercial burning that is not contained in a barbecue grill or pit, with a total fuel area capped at three feet in diameter and two feet in height (Sec. 7-72). Outside of a declared burn ban, that size-limited fire is not separately licensed under this article. The Polk County Fire Chief or the chief's designee may prohibit 'any and all open and recreational fires' by declaring a burn ban whenever fire hazard conditions exist, defined as more than fifty percent of the county averaging 500 on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, or other circumstances that raise the risk of uncontrolled and brush fires (Sec.

7-72, 7-73(a)). A declared ban must be published on the county's homepage, is effective the date it is signed and filed with the Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners, and must go to the Board's next regular agenda for ratification by resolution; if the Board fails to ratify it, the ban is automatically repealed (Sec. 7-73). The fire chief's designee may suspend a ban for up to seven days at a time without Board action, and the Board may suspend or repeal a ban by resolution (Sec.

7-73(e), 7-76). The ordinance applies in all unincorporated areas of Polk County and in any municipality that opts in and is not in conflict with its own ordinance (Sec. 7-74). 00 or up to sixty days in the county jail, or both (Sec. 7-75).