St. Martin Parish, LA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 26-10 is the Parish Council's edict on transporting, dumping and outdoor burning of designated items in the unincorporated areas. Subsection (b) prohibits any person or entity from transporting building or construction materials, brush, limbs, trees, leaves, tires, trash or any other refuse or abandoned items onto property in the unincorporated area for storage, dumping or other deposit, and forbids burning those items afterward, whether by the hauler or by the person who has custody or control of the premises. The parish deems the activity a nuisance and unlawful. The prohibition does not apply at a site duly licensed and approved for the activity by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality or another state or federal regulator with jurisdiction.

Subsection (c) exempts outdoor burning to prepare food; campfires and fires used solely for recreation or ceremonies; fires set on agricultural and forestry lands for management or harvesting under practices acceptable to the Louisiana Department of Agriculture; small fires by tradesmen and contractors in onsite work such as building construction and street repairs; welding torches, portable heaters and other open-flame devices; firefighter training fires held to the minimum duration required; fires vented through a stack or chimney, such as a residential fireplace; and by-products of manufacturing or milling such as bagasse. Burning of waste hydrocarbons from petroleum exploration or production, outside emergency spill abatement, must sit 100 feet from any residence and run only between legal sunrise and legal sunset, with no traffic hazard created. Every exempt fire must still comply with other laws, including air control regulations, and the exemption does not excuse responsibility for resulting damage or injury.

Subsection (d) protects burning on your own land: the section does not prohibit onsite burning of leaves, brush, tree limbs or similar vegetative materials generated on property the person owns, leases or lawfully occupies, or hauling that material to another site the same person owns, leases or lawfully occupies. It does not relieve anyone from federal, state or other local rules. Separately, section 36-12 in the solid waste chapter restricts burning of solid waste to compliant incineration: the owner or user files an affidavit with the environmental services division each year and posts a copy within sight of the charge opening, the parish can inspect and order a cessation, and the owner can appeal to the director of public works.