Portsmouth, VA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

City Code § 13-7 is a flat, materials-based burning ban rather than a seasonal or permit-based restriction: it prohibits burning wrecked or discarded vehicles (or any parts of them), junk, waste materials, rubbish, debris, dead or dying trees and limbs, leaves, and other natural growth anywhere within Portsmouth. The section, added by Ord. No. 1989-109 in 1989, sits in Chapter 13's general fire-prevention article alongside related provisions on negligent or intentional fire-setting: § 13-2 makes it a class 4 misdemeanor to carelessly or negligently set fire to woods, marshes, stubble, brush or straw that damages another's property, and § 13-3 makes intentionally allowing such a fire to spread a class 1 misdemeanor.

Section 13-7 does not carve out a permit process, seasonal exception, or small-pile allowance; the listed materials are prohibited from burning outright, citywide. The chapter cross-references § 23-26(c), which separately treats weeds or debris constituting a fire hazard as a nuisance subject to abatement, so a property owner who lets debris accumulate can face both the burning prohibition and a separate nuisance order before the material is ever ignited.