Plymouth, MN Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

The Plymouth Fire Department issues Open Burn Permits under City Code § 940.01, which bars anyone from starting or allowing open burning on any property in the City without one. The Fire Department may approve a permit only for specific purposes: eliminating a fire hazard that cannot otherwise be abated, forest or prairie management, clearing land or maintaining parks and rights-of-way when chipping or composting is not practical, disposing of diseased trees or infected nursery stock, or ground thawing for utility work. Applications go to the Fire Department on a DNR-prescribed form at least seven days before the planned burn, and the department must grant or deny within seven calendar days.

Burn sites cannot sit within 600 feet of an occupied residence other than the applicant's own, or within 50 feet of a structure or combustible material, and the Fire Department can require a greater distance. Wind must run under 15 miles per hour and away from nearby homes, no stumps may go in the fire, and burning is prohibited outright whenever the Minnesota DNR rates fire danger at or above VERY HIGH. Permit holders must notify the Fire Department the morning of the burn, keep the permit on-site, remain in constant attendance, keep suppression equipment ready, and fully extinguish the fire before leaving or before dusk. Prohibited materials include oils, plastics, tires, treated or painted wood, shingles, insulation, and demolition or industrial waste. The DNR or Fire Chief can revoke a permit mid-burn for a developing hazard or nuisance. The permit fee is $100 under § 1015.29, and any violation of the open-burning ordinance is a misdemeanor under § 940.19.