Burn Bans

LawLert has been unable to re-read the Massachusetts open-burning page on mass.gov since September 19, 2026 (the site blocks LawLert's automated reader), so any statewide ban declared since then would not appear here — check mass.gov's open-burning page or your local fire department before you burn. Massachusetts has no active statewide wildfire burn ban, but seasonal open burning is OUT OF SEASON — the open-burning season runs Jan 15–May 1 only (10 a.m.–4 p.m., permit required from your local fire department, at least 75 ft from all dwellings), so residential brush burning is not allowed again until mid-January. Open burning is prohibited at ALL times in 22 densely built cities and towns: Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Malden, Medford, New Bedford, Newton, Somerville, Springfield, Waltham, Watertown, West Springfield and Worcester. In season you may burn brush, cane, driftwood and forestry debris — never leaves, grass, stumps, tires, trash or construction debris — and fire wardens decide daily whether conditions are safe. Outdoor cooking is allowed year-round everywhere; a fire pit used for anything other than cooking falls under the open-burning rules. Burning illegally or letting a fire escape can bring fines, jail time and liability for firefighting costs (M.G.L. c.48, § 13).