Clark County, IN Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Clark County, IN, 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
- Governing section
- § 90.05
- Scope
- Unincorporated Clark County only
- Fine range
- $225 to $500
- Enforcing officers
- Sheriff, County Engineer, police
- Venue
- County Superior Court No. 3
- Ordinance origin
- Ord. 12-2007, 9-20-2007
Summary
Section 90.05 flatly prohibits any outdoor burning of wood, brush, trash, refuse or other burnable material by fires ignited on the ground, at any location, throughout unincorporated Clark County, with the Sheriff, the County Engineer and any law enforcement officer authorized to issue citations.
(B) It is hereby ordained to be prohibited for any person, business, entity or group of persons or groups of businesses to conduct any outdoor burning of wood, brush, trash, refuse or any materials that are burnable and combustible by fires ignited on the ground, at any location, in unincorporated areas of the county. (C) The Sheriff of the county, the County Engineer and any law enforcement officer in the county is authorized to issue a citation to any person/entity/business who is engaged in any conduct, participation, aiding or support of the outdoor fires prohibited by this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2019 S-0: Code: Local legislation current through Ordinance 31-2014, passed 12-18-2014).
Full Breakdown
05(B) makes it unlawful for any person, business, entity or group to conduct outdoor burning of wood, brush, trash, refuse or any other burnable or combustible material by fires ignited on the ground, at any location, in the unincorporated areas of the county; the ban carries no seasonal, permit, or small-fire exception in the text. Subsection (C) authorizes the County Sheriff, the County Engineer, and any law enforcement officer in the county to issue a citation to anyone engaged in, participating in, aiding, or supporting a prohibited outdoor fire, with the citation filed with the Clerk of the County Superior Court No.
3 for civil prosecution as an ordinance violation. 99(D), an attorney designated by the Board of Commissioners civilly prosecutes these violations, and upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence the court enters judgment against the violator, all such trials being to the court without a jury. The ordinance was adopted by Ord. 12-2007, passed September 20, 2007, and applies only in the county's unincorporated territory; incorporated cities and towns inside Clark County set their own burning rules.
Violations & Fines
A proven Section 90.05 violation draws a fine of not less than $225 and not more than $500, plus all court costs and attorney fees incurred by the county and the Clerk's office in prosecuting the citation, any additional actual damages caused by the burning, and further costs the court imposes. Trials are held before the court, without a jury, in County Superior Court No. 3.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is any outdoor burning legal in unincorporated Clark County?
Who can write a citation for illegal outdoor burning?
How much is the fine for illegal burning?
Does this ban apply inside Jeffersonville or other towns?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clark County
How Clark County compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Clark County to another location·View the Indiana fire regulations overview
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