Boise, ID Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Boise, ID, 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
- Permit required for
- bonfires, ag burns, fence rows
- No permit needed
- recreational fires, portable fireplaces
- Automatic ban trigger
- AQI 60 or higher
- Enforcing agency
- Boise Fire Code Official
Summary
Most open burning in Boise needs a fire code permit first, and any open burning is banned outright once the regional Air Quality Index hits 60.
307.2 Permit Required. A permit shall be obtained from the fire code official ... prior to open burning, for the following types of fires: 1. Recognized silvicultural or range or wildlife management practices... 2. Irrigation ditches and fence rows; 3. Bonfires... 307.2.2 Air Quality Index. All open burning, even if a valid permit has been issued or no permit is required, is prohibited when the Air Quality Index (AQI) ... reaches 60 or higher for any pollutant.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-31: Code current through: Ord. 20-26, passed 6-9-2026).
Full Breakdown
Boise adopts the International Fire Code with local amendments. Under BCC § 5-12-17, a permit from the fire code official is required before bonfires, agricultural/silvicultural burns, and burning of irrigation ditches or fence rows; recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces are exempt from the permit but not from the AQI rule. BCC § 5-12-18 then overrides everything: once DEQ reports an AQI of 60 or higher for any pollutant, all open burning is prohibited even for permit holders, with only firefighter-training burns exempted. A separate wood-burning-ban chapter (BCC § 9-8-6) bars open burning of refuse and restricts solid-fuel appliances once a wood burning ban is declared at AQI 74+.
Violations & Fines
Burning without a required permit, or any open burning during an AQI 60+ air quality ban, is a fire code violation enforceable by the fire code official; penalties run through the city's general misdemeanor penalty section, BCC § 1-4-1.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have a backyard fire pit in Boise without a permit?
What triggers a citywide burn ban in Boise?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Boise
How Boise compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Boise to another location·View the Idaho fire regulations overview
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