Kent County, DE Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Section 168-31, Fires, governs open-flame cooking on land administered by the Kent County Department of Community Services, Parks Division. Subsection A limits fires in picnic areas 'only in the established fireplaces and barbecue grills commercially manufactured for such purposes' and requires that 'hot coals shall be dumped in the container provided for such purposes,' meaning visitors cannot dig a fire pit or dump ash on the ground. Subsection B lets picnickers supplement those fixed fireplaces with their own charcoal grills, gasoline stoves or gas stoves for cooking.

Subsection C imposes a duty of care on anyone lighting or extinguishing a fire and disposing of charcoal, 'to prevent damage to trees and vegetation and to prevent forest fires,' a standard the Division can enforce against a visitor even if the fire itself was in a legal spot. Subsection D gives the Division or the Fire Marshal discretionary authority to prohibit or limit smoking or fire-building altogether 'when, in its or his judgment, the fire hazard makes such action necessary,' letting the county shut down grilling countywide during dry conditions without amending the ordinance.

The rule sits between § 168-24, which bars 'fires of any kind' outside designated areas, and § 168-30, which prohibits camping except where the Division permits it, so together the sections steer all open flame toward marked picnic areas and their fixed equipment.