Outdoor burning rules in Fort Smith, AR — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
General open burning is prohibited inside the City of Fort Smith. The local fire ordinance bars bonfires, rubbish fires, leaf burning, residential debris fires, and construction or demolition debris fires anywhere within city limits. Only narrow exceptions apply: small recreational fires meeting the 3-foot by 2-foot rule, and Commercial Burn Permits issued by the Fort Smith Fire Marshal for large land clearing, controlled forest or wildlife management, fire-training, or ceremonial purposes.
Fort Smith regulates outdoor burning through three overlapping layers. (1) Local - the Fort Smith open-burning ordinance, codified in the Fire Prevention sections of the Municipal Code and reinforced by the Fort Smith Fire Department, prohibits any person from kindling or maintaining a bonfire, rubbish fire, leaf fire, or burning any other residential, construction, or demolition debris within city limits. (2) State - the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code (2021 edition, based on the 2021 IFC) Section 307 (Open Burning, Recreational Fires and Portable Outdoor Fireplaces) prohibits open burning unless approved by the local fire official, with recreational-fire and portable-outdoor-fireplace exceptions in Section 307.4. (3) State environmental - the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ, formerly ADEQ) Regulation No. 18 (Arkansas Air Pollution Control Code) restricts the open burning of materials likely to produce smoke or air contaminants, with limited yard-waste burning allowed only outside city limits under conditions in Regulation 18.301. Inside Fort Smith, the only authorized burns are: (a) small recreational fires under the local 25-foot / 3-foot by 2-foot / seasoned-wood rule, and (b) Commercial Burn Permits issued by the Fort Smith Fire Marshal under the Fire Prevention sections of the Code for purposes such as cleaning large tracts for subdivisions or roadways, controlled fires for forest or wildlife management, firefighting training, or ceremonial purposes. All outdoor burning is prohibited whenever Sebastian County has issued a burn ban or when winds exceed 15 mph. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture Forestry Division may also issue statewide burning restrictions during the Spring (February-May) and Fall (October-December) fire seasons.
Open burning in violation of the Fort Smith ordinance and the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code is enforced by the Fort Smith Fire Department and Police Department. Under the general penalty (Section 1-9), fines run up to $500 per offense plus up to 30 days in jail per A.C.A. Section 14-55-504, with each day of continuing violation chargeable separately. Arkansas DEQ can separately assess civil penalties up to $10,000 per day per violation under A.C.A. Section 8-4-103 of the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act. Causing a wildfire or property damage may also lead to criminal arson liability under A.C.A. Section 5-38-301 (Class A misdemeanor through Class A felony depending on damage).
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