Coeur d'Alene, ID Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Coeur d'Alene, 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
- Banned outright
- Burning garbage or refuse inside city limits
- Allowed materials
- Brush, grass, weeds, and cuttings from trees, lawns or gardens
- Burn windows
- Set by mayor and city council by motion or resolution
- Permit
- Issued by the fire chief
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine or 180 days
Summary
In the City of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, it is unlawful to burn garbage or refuse. Only brush, grass, weeds, and cuttings from trees, lawns or gardens can be burned, and only at times the mayor and city council set by motion or resolution, or under a permit issued by the fire chief. Coeur d'Alene Municipal Code § 8.04.070 governs.
It shall be unlawful for any person to burn garbage or refuse within the municipal limits of the city of Coeur d'Alene, except brush, grass, weeds, and cuttings from trees, lawns or gardens, which may be burned only at times provided by the mayor and city council by motion or resolution, or by permit issued by the fire chief.
Full Breakdown
Coeur d'Alene Municipal Code § 8.04.070 is a burn prohibition with a narrow exception. The prohibition covers garbage and refuse anywhere within the municipal limits of the City of Coeur d'Alene. Refuse is defined in § 8.04.010 as all putrescible and nonputrescible solid waste except sewage, including garbage and rubbish, and rubbish in turn takes in waste wood, paper, printed matter, rags, mattresses, shoes, ashes and similar material. None of that can be burned.
The exception is limited to brush, grass, weeds, and cuttings from trees, lawns or gardens. Those materials can be burned only in one of two ways. The first is at times provided by the mayor and city council by motion or resolution, so the burn windows are set by the council and not fixed in the code text. The second is by permit issued by the fire chief. A resident who has neither a council-declared burn time nor a fire chief permit has no legal basis to burn even yard cuttings.
The section is part of chapter 8.04 on garbage, so it sits beside the disposal rule in § 8.04.050, which sends solid waste to the city/county landfill. The weed abatement chapter points the same direction: § 8.08.020 makes brush and vegetative litter on private property a violation when allowed to accumulate, and the owner has five days after notice to remove it under § 8.08.050. Owners who cannot burn have to cut, haul or otherwise remove the material instead.
Violations & Fines
Section 8.04.100 makes it a misdemeanor to violate any prohibitory regulation in chapter 8.04, which includes the burning prohibition in § 8.04.070. Under § 1.28.010 a misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, up to 180 days in jail, or both, and each day a violation continues or is permitted is a separate offense under § 1.28.010(B).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I burn yard waste in Coeur d'Alene?
Who decides when burning is allowed in the city?
Can I burn household garbage or trash in Coeur d'Alene?
What is the penalty for illegal burning?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Coeur d'Alene
How Coeur d'Alene compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Coeur d'Alene to another location·View the Idaho fire regulations overview
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