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

Manatee County treats a backyard fire pit as a Category VII "bonfire or other fire that is used solely for recreational purposes or for ceremonial occasions" under Section 3.07(a) and (5) of the county's Open Burning Code. That category needs an Environmental Management Department (EMD) permit before you light it: EMD may inspect the burn site to confirm only approved fuel will be used, and the local fire district with jurisdiction over the address must sign off before the permit issues. Approved fuel is limited to what Rule 62-256.200(5), Florida Administrative Code, defines as "Clean Dry Wood," so pallets, treated lumber, yard trash or household debris in a fire pit fall outside the permit entirely. Unusually, Section 3.07(5) charges no permit or inspection fee for this category, unlike the yard-trash and land-clearing categories that do carry a fee.

Section 3.08(a)(2) carves out a narrower, permit-free exception: a camp fire used for outdoor noncommercial food preparation, or to warm outdoor workers on cold days, needs no EMD permit at all, but only "if permitted by the local fire district exercising jurisdiction" over that location, and only if it produces no excessive visible emissions and burns only approved materials. Section 3.08(b) then requires the operator to notify the local fire district on the day of the burn, a step the code waives only for barbecue grill fires and disaster burns. Absent that fire-district sign-off, a "campfire" is legally a Category VII bonfire and needs the EMD permit described above. Section 3.06(a) makes the default explicit: unless a fire is permitted under Section 3.06 or exempted under Section 3.08, no person may ignite or maintain any open fire in unincorporated Manatee County.