Bartow County, GA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Bartow County, GA, also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance, set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Key Facts
- Banned materials
- Treated wood, plastics, rubber, petroleum products
- Applies
- Anywhere in unincorporated Bartow County
- State overlay
- Georgia Burn Ban adopted by reference
- First-offense fine
- $200 minimum
- Enforcement venue
- Bartow County Magistrate Court
- Ban authority
- County fire chief, county-wide or by area
Summary
Unincorporated Bartow County bans burning treated wood, plastics, rubber including tires, petroleum products and anything containing them anywhere in the county. The fire chief can also shut down all open burning, of any material, whenever drought or dangerous conditions raise fire risk, and the county has adopted the statewide Georgia Burn Ban by reference.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit open burning of the following materials in any area of the county:(1)Treated wood;(2)Plastics;(3)Rubber (including tires);(4)Petroleum products; and(5)Any products, items or things containing any of the above materials.
Full Breakdown
Section 34-355(c) of the Bartow County Code flatly prohibits open burning of five categories of material anywhere in the county: treated wood, plastics, rubber including tires, petroleum products, and any item containing those materials. That prohibition applies regardless of drought conditions and stands alongside the discretionary ban power in section 34-355(d), which lets the fire chief prohibit all open burning, of any material, county-wide or in a designated area, whenever atmospheric, environmental, drought or other dangerous conditions create a significant risk of fire, and the ban remains until the fire chief lifts it.
02(5), by reference in section 34-354(d), layering on Georgia's own restrictions and a summer burn-ban period specific to Bartow County, with exemptions the fire chief may approve on a case-by-case basis. Code enforcement officers and law enforcement personnel can enter property to investigate suspected open burning violations and issue citations heard in magistrate court. 00 maximum.
Violations & Fines
Burning any of the five prohibited materials, or burning during a declared ban, is enforced under section 34-354's fine schedule: a $200.00 minimum for a first offense, $400.00 for a second, $600.00 for a third or later offense, and a maximum fine of $1,200.00 for violations of section 34-355(a) or $1,000.00 for other violations, doubled further when the citing officer documents aggravating circumstances, with each day of an ongoing violation charged as a separate citation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What materials can never be burned outdoors in Bartow County?
Does Bartow County follow the statewide Georgia Burn Ban?
Who enforces the open burning rules?
What is the fine for illegally burning tires or plastic?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bartow County
How Bartow County compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Bartow County to another location·View the Georgia fire regulations overview
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