Residential Open Burning

Rules and Regulations

Below is a summary of the St. Tammany Parish residential open burning and nuisance ordinance Ch. 14, Article 1 Section 14-003.00; however, it should be understood by the property owner that even if the fire is not in violation of the parish ordinance, it may still be in violation of the State Department of Environmental Quality's Air Quality Regulations, and as such, you may be subject to fines from that agency. Compliance with the parish ordinances is no protection against being fined by the State of Louisiana. Furthermore, a nuisance fire as defined by this ordinance is a fire that creates dense smoke, noxious fumes, gas, soot or cinders, in unreasonable quantities that injures or endangers the health, safety or well-being of others may be immediately extinguished and/or referred to St. Tammany Parish Code Enforcement.

A controlled fire or open burning of leaves and yard debris, such as pine needles, pine cones, shrubs, brush and cut timber, in St. Tammany Parish shall not be in violation if the following guidelines are adhered to:

  1. The fire area shall not be greater than 8 feet in diameter.
  2. The height of burning materials shall not be greater than 4 feet.
  3. Burning shall only occur between sunrise and one hour before sunset.
  4. The fire site shall be attended at all times.
  5. A functional water hose attached to an operating water supply shall be located next to the fire site.
  6. The fire site shall be located at least 10 feet from the nearest property line.
  7. There shall be no more than one fire site per home site or parcel of land.
  8. The fire site shall be located at least 50 feet from any structure, if nearer than 50 feet from a structure, a container must be used. (As a guideline, NFPA 1 recommends the container be located a minimum of ten feet from structures. The size and type of container to include fuel load may require additional clearance.)

This does not give you permission to burn.
This is not a burn permit.

If you have any questions regarding this guideline, please contact our Fire Prevention Bureau at (985) 845-3330.