Frederick County, VA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Under § 45-6 of the County Code, no owner may kindle an open fire in any public or private place outside a building anywhere in the unincorporated county outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown. The general ban never permits burning rubber tires, asphaltic materials, used crankcase oil or other dense-smoke materials, and every listed exception is voided automatically the moment an air pollution alert is declared by the appropriate authority. Salvage operations conducted by open burning are separately and flatly prohibited. The ordinance then carves out specific, narrow exceptions: household rubbish, garbage, leaves or lawn and garden clippings originating on the burning landowner's own premises, but only where no refuse-collection service is available; recognized agricultural land-clearing practices for scrubby trees, brush or weeds; burning ordered by a public official responding to an irregular hazard or training firefighters; cooking or recreational fires such as campfires; and heating fires for construction workers.

Three further categories, right-of-way clearing by the State Highway Department or a public utility, reforestation burning under state forestry guidelines, and railroad right-of-way burning as a fire-prevention measure, require prior authorization from the Air Pollution Control Officer or Agency before they are legal. The Air Pollution Control Officer administers this chapter under §§ 45-2 and 45-5, weighing the character of injury, the economic value of the activity and the practicability of eliminating the discharge. Under § 45-9, every violation of the article is punishable by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $500, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.