Clarksville, TN Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Clarksville, TN, 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
- Enforcing agency
- Clarksville Fire Department
- Response cost
- $200 per hour, billed to violator
- Wind limit
- 15 mph Mar-Oct, 10 mph Oct-Mar
- Commercial burn cap
- 36 hours, then covered with dirt
- Clearance
- 50 ft around pile, 200 ft from structures
- Permit penalty
- 1-year ban on new burn permits
Summary
Clarksville's fire code makes it unlawful to burn refuse, garbage, or salvage materials in the open. Cooking fires, ceremonial fires, and small leaf burns are allowed without a permit if you follow the safety rules, but burning tree debris or wood in piles over four feet across needs a Fire Department permit, cleared ground, wind-speed limits, and a 36-hour cap.
No persons shall cause or allow open burning of refuse, garbage, or materials from salvage operations....Commercial type open burn of trees and wood products in piles larger than four (4) foot in diameter can be conducted after securing a permit from the Clarksville Fire Department and shall be subject to the following conditions...The area around the pile shall be cleared of any vegetation a minimum of fifty (50) feet in all direction. The area of the pile shall be no larger than one hundred (100) feet in width...No pile shall be allowed to burn that is any closer then one hundred (100) feet from a roadway and must be more than two hundred (200) feet from the nearest inhabited structure....No burn shall last more than thirty-six (36) hours and shall be extinguished by completely covering the pile with dirt. Any person found in violation of the terms of a thirty-six (36) hour burn permit shall not receive a burn permit for a period of one year after such finding.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 110 Update 2 | Zoning Ordinance: Supplement 6).
Full Breakdown
Section 7-208(1) flatly bars open burning of refuse, garbage, or salvage materials citywide. Below that ban, the code carves out permit-free burning for cooking, ceremonial and recreational fires (barbecues, outdoor fireplaces), firefighter training burns, and construction-site wood fires under four feet in diameter, kept at least 75 feet from an inhabited structure and extinguished by sunset. Once a burn pile exceeds four feet across, it becomes a commercial open burn requiring a Clarksville Fire Department permit: the ground must be cleared of vegetation at least 50 feet around the pile, the pile itself capped at 100 feet wide, kept at least 100 feet from any roadway and 200 feet from an inhabited structure, and an equipment operator with fire-control machinery must stay on site the whole time.
, and a permitted burn is capped at 36 hours before it must be fully covered with dirt to extinguish it. Wind-speed limits apply year-round: no burning above 15 mph from March 15 through October 14, and above 10 mph the rest of the year, unless an air curtain destructor is used. Fire officials who find a leaf or debris burn out of compliance order it extinguished on the spot.
Violations & Fines
Burning without a required permit is a violation of the city code, and a Clarksville Fire Department official will order a noncompliant fire extinguished immediately. If the department has to respond to put out a violating fire, its cost of two hundred dollars ($200.00) per hour for the responding company is billed to the permit holder. Anyone who breaks the terms of a 36-hour commercial burn permit forfeits eligibility for another burn permit for one full year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I burn leaves in my Clarksville yard?
Do I need a permit to burn tree debris after clearing land?
What happens if my open burn breaks the rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clarksville
How Clarksville compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Clarksville to another location·View the Tennessee fire regulations overview
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