Burn Bans

Open burning is prohibited in the District of Columbia year-round. Under the DC air-quality rules, 20 DCMR 604.1, open fires are banned outright, and 604.2 allows them only for a short list of purposes: an official duty performed by a public health or public safety officer after notifying the Mayor; preventing a fire hazard that cannot be abated another way; instruction of public firefighters supervised by a fire marshal; recreational purposes, including cooking food for people on premises that are not commercial; and warming construction or other workers with Salamander heaters or other devices the Mayor approves. That recreational and cooking exception is what makes ordinary backyard grilling lawful. There is no seasonal burn-ban system in DC — the prohibition is standing, and the section has not been amended since it took effect in 1985. The DC Fire Code adds two limits worth knowing: charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices may not be used on a balcony or within 10 feet of any building or combustible construction, except at detached single-family homes, where sprinklers protect the structure, or for approved natural-gas grills; and lighting, using or releasing an untethered sky lantern is prohibited.