Newark, NJ Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 16:21-24, in Article 3 of the Air Pollution Control Code of the City (Chapter 16:21), makes it unlawful for any person to conduct, cause, suffer, allow or permit the open burning of refuse and plant life, and defines plant life broadly to include trees, tree branches, leaves, yard trimmings, shrubbery, grass, weeds and crops, so raking leaves into a pile and lighting them is covered along with burning household refuse. The companion section, § 16:21-23, separately bans disposing of refuse in a way that causes air pollution or running a salvage operation by open burning.

Both sit under the citywide Air Pollution Control Code, enforced by the Director of the Air Pollution Control Agency inside the Department of Health and Community Wellness. Section 16:21-13 backs enforcement with an access requirement: no one may hinder, obstruct or refuse entry to the Director or authorized personnel investigating a suspected violation of the chapter at reasonable hours. Penalties run through § 16:21-14, which applies to the whole chapter: a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment up to 90 days, or both, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense.

The chapter's Article 2 rules on visible smoke and Article 4 rules on incinerators show Newark's broader air-quality intent, but for a resident asking about a backyard fire, the operative line is the flat ban in § 16:21-24: there's no size, fuel type or time-of-day carve-out for burning plant life or refuse outdoors anywhere in the city.