Outdoor burning rules in Lubbock, TX — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Outdoor burning inside Lubbock city limits is generally prohibited. Outside city limits, burning follows TCEQ 30 TAC Section 111.219 and any active Lubbock County burn ban. Burning trash, tires, or construction debris is never allowed.
Within Lubbock city limits, Code of Ordinances Chapter 14 prohibits open burning except for permitted recreational fires in approved devices and limited small cooking fires. Burning leaves, yard waste, trash, or construction debris inside the city is banned year-round. In unincorporated Lubbock County, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) governs through 30 TAC Section 111.219, which allows some agricultural, land-clearing, and domestic waste burning provided: burning occurs more than 300 feet from neighbor structures, between 1 hour after sunrise and 1 hour before sunset, wind speeds are 6-23 mph, no actively forming inversion is present, and only natural vegetation is burned. Lubbock County Commissioners Court regularly issues 90-day burn bans during dry periods under Texas Local Government Code Section 352.081. Check the Texas A&M Forest Service burn ban map before burning. Violations are prosecuted by TCEQ and the Sheriff.
Inside city: Class C misdemeanor, up to 2,000 dollar fine. Outside city during burn ban: up to 500 dollar fine under TLGC 352.081. TCEQ violations can reach 10,000 dollars per day per rule.
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