Pope County, AR Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Pope County Code § 360.02, adopted as Ordinance 1991-029 and amended by Ordinance 1996-014, sets the penalty structure for burning in violation of a burn ban declared for unincorporated Pope County. A first offense of willful burning during a ban period draws a $50 fine. A second offense within that same ban period draws $200, and a third offense within the same period draws $500, so the fine climbs sharply for anyone who keeps burning after being caught once. The Ordinance leaves enforcement to the fire department that responds to and extinguishes the illegal fire: that department's official asks the Pope County Sheriff's Office, or another appropriate law enforcement agency, to investigate the circumstances and issue a citation, applying both this county ordinance and Arkansas's own outdoor-burning laws.

Money collected from burn-ban prosecutions does not go into the county's general fund; § 360.02 directs it into a special account held by the Pope County Treasurer, which the Quorum Court appropriates back to the Pope County Firefighters Association, tying the penalty directly to the fire departments that respond to burn violations. The Ordinance carries an emergency clause, adopted because of severe fire danger, so it took effect immediately upon passage rather than after the standard waiting period. The ordinance regulates the penalty for violating a declared ban; the authority to declare the ban itself, and the conditions that trigger one, sit with the state and local fire and emergency officials the fire department coordinates with when conditions warrant it.