Charlotte County, FL Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

125 governs open burning statewide, including in unincorporated Charlotte County, and Charlotte County's own code leans on it directly: Section 3-9-70 exempts on-site open burning of land-clearing debris from the county's waste-facility permitting only when that burning is 'permitted by the State of Florida' and stays temporary. 125(2), a noncertified burn (a yard-trash or land-clearing pile burn without a certified burn manager) is authorized only if the landowner or a designee consents, the Florida Forest Service or its agent authorizes the burn before ignition, adequate firebreaks and enough personnel and firefighting equipment are on site to contain it, the fire stays within the authorized area, the responsible person or a designee stays on site until the burn is finished, the Forest Service has not canceled the authorization, and air quality and fire danger conditions are favorable that day.

083. Certified pile burning and certified prescribed burning carry their own written-plan and certified-manager requirements under subsections (3) and (4), with the same misdemeanor penalty for violations. 125(6) additionally lets Charlotte County (or the City of Punta Gorda) apply to the Forest Service to run its own local open burning authorization program for yard trash and land-clearing debris, provided the county's ordinance matches the state's landowner-consent and firebreak requirements, funds enforcement, and corrects any Forest Service-identified deficiency within 90 days or lose the delegated authority back to the state.