Rochester, MN Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Under Rochester City Code § 8-2-6(b), anyone who wants to burn vegetation, brush, trees, or other land-clearing debris outdoors must first obtain a fire department operational permit. The permit is valid for 30 days from issuance, though the fire code official may grant a single 30-day extension if the burning project is not finished. Projects such as prairie restoration, buckthorn removal, and land development burns are evaluated case by case, and the fire code official decides whether to issue the permit. 00 permit fee for each open burning site.

The code draws a line between this permitted "open burning" and a much narrower category called a "recreational fire," defined in § 8-2-2(c). A recreational fire is limited to pleasure, religious, ceremonial or cooking purposes; it cannot be used to dispose of trees, brush, or vegetation; the fuel pile cannot exceed three feet in diameter and two feet in height; it must sit at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material; and someone must attend it with an extinguishing method on hand at all times.

Because recreational fires meeting those limits fall outside the "open burning" permit requirement, a backyard fire pit used for cooking or gathering does not need a city permit, but exceeding the size or distance limits, or burning for disposal purposes, pushes the activity into the permitted category. The fire chief and fire code official administer the permit program citywide.