York County, VA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Article V of Chapter 11, the York County Ordinance for the Regulation of Open Burning, bans open burning or the use of a special incineration device for several specific purposes under Section 11-53. Subsection (a) bars burning refuse except where the article otherwise allows it. Subsection (b) bars burning rubber tires, asphaltic materials, crankcase oil, treated wood and other rubber or petroleum-based materials, except for bona fide firefighter training at permanent training facilities. Subsection (c) bars burning hazardous waste or its containers, and subsection (d) bars burning tied to a salvage operation or to commercial or industrial waste disposal.

Subsection (f) lets the county shut down all open burning during a declared air pollution alert, warning or emergency stage. The article, adopted by Ordinance O97-1(R) effective July 1, 1997, exists to protect air quality alongside the State Air Pollution Control Board's own regulations, and subsection (e) makes clear that following this article never excuses a burner from liability for resulting damage or from complying with other laws, citing Section 10.1-1142 of the Forest Fire Law of Virginia specifically. Permitted burning still exists in narrower categories: household leaf burning by residents on their own property, land-clearing debris burning and local-landfill debris burning, each spelled out in Section 11-55 with its own conditions such as time-of-day limits and minimum distances from structures, and each generally requiring a permit from the fire official under Section 11-56 along with a $50 processing fee.

Section 11-57 sets the penalty structure: any violation of the article is a Class 1 misdemeanor, except violations of the leaf-burning conditions in Section 11-55(a)(1) through (9), which are a Class 4 misdemeanor, and each day of violation counts separately.