Texas City, TX Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Texas City, Texas starts from a ban. Section 96.02(J) of the Texas City Code of Ordinances rewrites Sec. 307 of the adopted 2024 International Fire Code to read that open burning shall be prohibited within the City of Texas City. The only exception is a permit. Permits can be issued for an open burn or trench burn not to exceed 15 feet in diameter and 8 feet in height, and the burn must be located a minimum of 50 feet from any structure or property line. Additional requirements can be imposed at the discretion of the Fire Marshal, so the permit conditions are not limited to the three figures printed in the code.

Open burning is one of the operations listed in § 96.02(D), which says operational permits are required for it and that the Fire Code Official issues them. The Exhibit A permit fee schedule at the end of Chapter 96 prints two burn permits: a residential burn permit valid for 30 days at $10, and a commercial burn permit valid for 60 days at $75, described as .5 acres or more of cleared burn debris, trench burns or commercial property. The schedule adds that one-time operational permits expire no later than 60 days from issuance and that obtaining the permit is the sole responsibility of the business or occupant.

The Division of Fire Prevention, a division of the Texas City Fire Department run by the Fire Marshal under the Fire Chief, enforces the burn rule, and the permit fee schedule directs applicants to the Fire Administration Building at 1725 25th Street North. The staged Texas City code text contains no separate burn-ban trigger or county burn-ban provision, so the local rule described here is the prohibition and permit exception only.