Abilene, TX Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Under Code of Ordinances § 10-52, part of the city's Fire Prevention Code, no one may burn paper, trash, or any miscellaneous waste in an Abilene street or alley. The companion rule at § 10-53 goes further: no property in the city may accumulate more than forty bales of loose cotton burrs, cotton waste, or other waste combustible matter unless it sits in a metal, fireproof burr hopper or a metal-lined enclosure fitted with fire prevention and control equipment, including an adequate water supply and hoses or sprinklers capable of putting out an accidental fire.

That waste material may never be disposed of by burning, and it cannot be allowed to pile up to the point it creates a fire danger. Both sections sit inside Article III of Chapter 10, the article that also adopts the 2021 International Fire Code (with the Abilene Fire Code Booklet amendments, Ord. No. 06-2022) as the city's working fire code, enforced by the Fire Marshal's office. Because §§ 10-52 and 10-53 don't set their own fines, a violation is punished under the Code's general penalty, § 1-9: up to a $500 fine, with each day the prohibited condition continues counted as a separate offense.

Outside the city limits, Taylor and Jones County burn bans and state open-burning rules can add further restrictions, but those sit on top of, not in place of, Abilene's own street-and-alley burning ban.