Bannock County, ID Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

County Code § 8.16.010 applies this chapter to burning anywhere in Bannock County outside an incorporated city's limits, so it reaches only the unincorporated area. Section 8.16.030 bans burning certain materials outright, in the open, a burn barrel, an incinerator, a stove or a fireplace: dead animals, junked vehicles or salvage material, tires and other rubber, plastics, asphalt or roofing material, tar and heavy petroleum products or paints, treated lumber including railroad ties, most trade waste, insulated wire, and pathogenic or hazardous waste, plus anything that produces an offensive smell or dense smoke.

Burning outside a covered barrel or incinerator otherwise needs a permit under § 8.16.050 and § 8.16.060, issued by the chief of the fire district covering the burn site or, outside a fire district, the Bannock County sheriff; the permit is valid two weeks and voids if the location or responsible person changes. Permitted burns must sit more than 50 feet from any structure or combustible object and more than 200 feet from wildland or sagebrush, keep winds under 10 mph, and stop between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., at sunset, or before dawn.

Burn barrels are allowed without a permit if the 55-gallon barrel carries a spark arrester of 12-gauge or heavier half-inch mesh and burning stays within daylight hours. Under § 8.16.070, the fire chief or sheriff can declare a countywide burning moratorium whenever conditions raise fire hazard.