Bossier City, LA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Bossier City, LA, 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
- Citation
- Bossier City Code § 38-279
- Permit authority
- Bureau of fire prevention (bonfires, rubbish fires)
- State sign-off required
- Louisiana Air Control Commission
- General penalty
- Up to $500.00 fine or 60 days jail
- Appeal window
- 30 days to city council
- Source
- 1980 Code § 8-157
Summary
Bossier City bans starting or setting a trash fire, or burning paper, grass, trash or debris, anywhere in the city unless the fire is contained in a proper furnace or incinerator. Code § 38-279, drawn from 1980 Code § 8-157, applies citywide with no acreage or residential exception, and the Bossier City Fire Department's bureau of fire prevention separately requires a permit for any bonfire or outdoor rubbish fire.
It shall be unlawful for any person to start or set any trash fire or to burn paper, grass, trash or debris where such fire is not protected by a proper furnace or incinerator, within the city limits.
Full Breakdown
Section 38-279 sits in Chapter 38's offenses article and cross-references Chapter 50, Fire Prevention and Protection, for the city's broader fire code. Its own text is short and absolute: no furnace or incinerator, no trash, paper, grass or debris fire, anywhere within the city limits. It carries forward 1980 Code § 8-157 without amendment. Chapter 50 supplies the permitting side of the same subject: § 50-31 adopts the latest Standard Fire Prevention Code and NFPA 101 Life Safety Code by reference, and § 50-36 amends the fire code's Section 1701 series and Section 501.1, which requires a permit from the bureau of fire prevention, plus authorization from the Louisiana Air Control Commission, before anyone may kindle or maintain a bonfire or rubbish fire, or run an incinerator that meets the bureau's and air-control regulations' specifications.
Read together, the two chapters leave no lawful path to burn trash or yard debris in the open in Bossier City; the only legal outdoor fire is a permitted bonfire or an approved incinerator installation. Section 50-38 gives an applicant who is refused a permit, or who disputes the fire code's application, 30 days to appeal the fire chief's decision to the city council. Violations of the fire prevention code carry their own penalty scale under § 50-40, separate from the trash-fire misdemeanor charged under § 38-279.
Violations & Fines
Setting a trash or debris fire without a furnace or incinerator under § 38-279 is a misdemeanor punished under the Code's general penalty, § 1-9: a fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment for not more than 60 days, or both, with each additional day the condition continues counted as a separate offense. Kindling a bonfire or rubbish fire without the Section 501.1 permit is charged separately under the Fire Prevention Code's own penalty in § 50-40.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I burn yard debris or trash outdoors in Bossier City?
Is a permit ever available for an outdoor fire?
What happens if I run an incinerator instead?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bossier City
How Bossier City compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Bossier City to another location·View the Louisiana fire regulations overview
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