Roseville, MN Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 403.02(a) opens with a flat rule: all open burning is prohibited in the city, except as subsection (b) provides. Subsection (b) lists three exceptions: recreational campfires, fires for bona fide fire department training approved by the fire chief, and open burning of trees resulting from extensive storm damage, at a central collection site, when the fire chief approves. Recreational fires carry twelve conditions. A permanent enclosure, meaning a fire pit dug into the ground or made of stone, steel or other noncombustible material, must sit at least 25 feet from a structure or property line, while a portable outdoor fireplace must sit at least 15 feet away.

The fire can be no more than three feet in diameter and four feet high, the permitted fuels are charcoal or wood at least one inch in diameter, and the burn can last no more than four hours. Trash, debris, grass, tree trimmings and leaves are not allowed, nothing combustible can sit within a three-foot radius of the fire, a responsible adult must attend it constantly, a means of extinguishing such as a garden hose or fire extinguisher must be present, and no recreational fire is allowed when winds exceed ten miles per hour.

Subsection (c) makes it the duty of the fire chief or fire marshal to investigate requests for and issue open burning permits for the purposes in subsection (b). Subsection (d) separately lets the fire chief or fire marshal issue permits to burn off prairie grass and vegetative ground cover. Property owners within 350 feet of the site must be notified at least three days before the burn, the fire department can conduct or supervise a burn where safety warrants, and the permittee pays the fee set in the city fee schedule.

Subsection (e) authorizes the fire marshal, fire inspector or fire chief to order extinguishment in the fire codes official's sole discretion when a fire creates or adds to a hazardous situation or a required permit has not been obtained.