Daviess County, KY Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

03, it is unlawful to kindle or maintain a bonfire or rubbish fire on any public street, alley, road, or other public ground in the county, outside the corporate limits of Owensboro and Whitesville, without first obtaining a permit from the Chief of the County Fire Department. The same permit requirement extends to any open fire on private land of less than one acre, though the ordinance carves out one specific exception: burning of leaves is permitted on private land without a permit. Any fire that is permitted must be closely monitored, and embers must be extinguished before the fire is abandoned; the Fire Chief issues a permit only on a showing that the proposed fire will not endanger public health and safety.

02 lets the County Judge/Executive proclaim an extraordinary fire hazard whenever the state Division of Forestry notifies the county of one, based on the national fire danger rating system and fire occurrence; once that proclamation issues and is published in the county's largest-circulation newspaper, no person may light or maintain an open fire anywhere in the county while it remains in effect. These two mechanisms work together: the permit system controls routine burning year-round, while the proclamation authority shuts down all open burning during declared high-risk conditions regardless of any permit already issued.