Lynchburg, VA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

City Code Sec. 4-61 makes it unlawful to cause or permit open burning of household waste, refuse, hazardous waste, or materials like rubber tires, asphaltic materials, crankcase oil or impregnated wood, and bars open burning tied to salvage operations or commercial/industrial waste destruction. The fire marshal's office can also halt all open burning during a declared air pollution alert, warning or emergency stage under 9 VAC 5-70, or whenever it determines burning threatens public health. Sec. 4-62 carves out limited exceptions: training fires for firefighters, recreational campfires, ceremonial fires, outdoor cooking, warming fires for outdoor workers, flare-stack destruction, approved forest management burns, and leaf or yard-trimming burns on private residential property that meet the conditions in Sec.

4-63 and 4-64. Even where an exception applies, Sec. 4-61(f) makes clear that lawful burning does not excuse the burner from liability for resulting damage or from complying with the Virginia Forest Fire Law (Code of Virginia Sec. 1-1142) and the State Air Pollution Control Board's regulations. Sec. 4-67 sets the penalty at a Class 1 misdemeanor, with each day of continued violation treated as a separate offense, and Sec. 4-69 lets the fire marshal's office order an immediate stop to any burning that is creating an emergency, with the owner liable for the city's costs if the city has to intervene to extinguish it.