Wyandotte County, KS Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Sec. 3-17 bars disposing of residential waste or refuse by open burning, running a salvage operation by open burning, disposing of nonresidential waste by open burning, and any other open burning on any property, plus any open burning that creates a private or public nuisance or safety hazard, covering subsections (a) through (e). Subsection (f) makes it prima facie evidence that the person who owns or controls the property where open burning occurs caused or permitted it, shifting the practical burden onto property owners. Five narrow exceptions exist under subsection (g): food-preparation fires like barbecuing; recreational or ceremonial bonfires with prior written approval from the director and fire prevention division; agricultural burning of vegetation for crop, range, pasture, wildlife or watershed management with the same dual approval; safety flares for flammable gas disposal with no practical alternative; and firefighter-training demonstration fires with approval.

Subsection (h) separately allows permitted burning of organic and extraordinary yard waste on a seasonal schedule. Enforcement authority belongs to the director, the director's designee, or the chief of the fire prevention division or a designee, per subsection (i), and a denied burn permit can be appealed to a panel of the director, fire chief and county administrator within 30 days under subsection (j). Because Chapter 3 is one of the chapters enumerated for administrative citation under Sec. 2-651, illegal open burning also triggers the Unified Government's civil penalty schedule.