Outdoor burning rules in Sarasota County, FL — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Burning yard waste, household trash, and debris from routine property maintenance is prohibited in Sarasota County. Only recreational fires and cooking fires are allowed without a permit. Land-clearing and agricultural burns require a Florida Forest Service permit.
Under Sarasota County Code § 54-116, the burning of yard trash, household or commercial trash, and debris from routine property maintenance is strictly prohibited. Only two open burns are allowed without a permit: recreational fires contained in a fire pit, bowl, chimenea, or fireplace, and cooking fires solely for preparing food, both using approved fuel (clean wood, charcoal, fire-starter logs, LP gas, natural gas, or butane). Broadcast burning, agricultural burning, and burning of land-clearing debris require a permit from the Florida Forest Service under FAC 5I-2. All open burning must avoid creating a nuisance and must stay at least 50 feet from any public roadway unless the Fire Chief permits otherwise.
The Fire Chief or code enforcement may order any unlawful, nuisance, or unsafe fire extinguished; failure to comply is a misdemeanor prosecuted under general law. Statewide burn bans halt all open burning during dry conditions.
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