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North Dakota Current Fire Restrictions (2026)

Conditional: North Dakota has no permanent statewide burn ban, but most of the state is covered. On the state's own burn-restriction layer (NDDES WebEOC declarations), 55 Fire Emergency Declarations are in force: 39 of North Dakota's 53 counties, 15 federal-agency units and 1 tribal government (Spirit Lake). THE STEELE COUNTY AND TURTLE MOUNTAIN BAND DECLARATIONS HAVE ENDED: the layer now marks both as not in effect, edited November 2, 2026 with a listed expiration date of November 2, 2026, so Steele County is no longer under a county declaration and the Turtle Mountain Band no longer has a declaration on the layer. The Burleigh, Emmons and Traill county declarations ended November 1, 2026, and Pierce County's ended October 31, 2026. The 14 counties with NO county declaration are Barnes, Benson, Burleigh, Emmons, Grand Forks, Griggs, LaMoure, Pierce, Ransom, Richland, Steele, Towner, Traill and Walsh. A county can declare again at any time. GRAND RIVER DISTRICT FIRE RESTRICTIONS HAVE BEEN TERMINATED: the Dakota Prairie Grasslands terminated Order 01-18-00-26-05 (the Grand River Ranger District fire restriction order dated July 22, 2026, which covered the Cedar River and Grand River National Grasslands) in a termination signed October 22, 2026 and effective October 24, 2026; the layer marks the Cedar River National Grassland entry rescinded the same day. A declaration is what makes a local burn restriction enforceable under N.D.C.C. 37-17.1-10, and what it bars on a given day varies by county: some impose a flat ban, others tie the restriction to the state Fire Danger Rating so it switches on and off automatically. BOWMAN COUNTY replaced its fire-danger-linked restriction with a TOTAL burn restriction in force since September 15, 2026 (county commission resolution, posted to the layer September 22, 2026). MORTON COUNTY HAS LIFTED ITS TOTAL BURN BAN: the layer now marks the total burn ban dated August 13, 2026 as rescinded effective November 6, 2026, and Morton County posted its signed revocation ("Morton County Ban Revoke 20261106") to the layer on November 9, 2026; under the new restrictions open burning is allowed only when the Daily Rangeland Fire Index is Low or Moderate, and is not permitted when it is High, Very High or Extreme or a Red Flag Warning is in effect. BILLINGS COUNTY removed its total burn ban and went back to daily fire-index-based restrictions (declaration dated November 5, 2026, posted to the layer November 6, 2026). DUNN COUNTY issued a new burn restriction declaration dated October 7, 2026 (posted to the layer October 7, 2026 and last edited there October 12, 2026, listed to expire January 1, 2027): it keeps the county's fire-danger-linked restrictions but now allows burn pits and large debris piles when the fire danger level is Low or Moderate; campfires are allowed at Low, Moderate or High fire danger only in a fire ring at a developed campground, and the declaration covers Dodge, Halliday, Dunn Center and Killdeer (Killdeer also has its own ordinance). CITY CARVE-OUTS MATTER — most declarations cover the county's incorporated cities, but several exclude cities that run their own ordinances: Morton County excludes Mandan, Glen Ullin, Hebron, Flasher and New Salem; and Foster County excludes Carrington. Federal orders run independently of any county; the layer lists active declarations for BLM land in 13 counties and for the Little Missouri National Grassland (McKenzie and Medora districts). The Sheyenne Ranger District order (Forest Order 01-18-00-26-06, Ransom and Richland Counties) was rescinded effective September 29, 2026. On the Little Missouri National Grassland, the layer notes (October 24, 2026) that the most recent restriction has been terminated and the June order 01-18-00-26-02 is the one in effect: campfires, smoking outside a safe area and driving on Prairie Two Track roads are prohibited automatically, county by county, whenever fire danger is High or above or a Red Flag Warning is in effect. HOW CURRENT THIS IS: each declaration is self-reported by its own jurisdiction and carries its own edit date, and those range from May 11, 2026 to November 11, 2026 (McHenry County's declaration is listed to expire November 16, 2026, carrying it through November 15, 2026; Stark County re-posted its burn restriction on November 5, 2026, listed to run through the end of December 2026) — a ban lifted locally since then may not have reached the state layer yet. Restrictions are set county by county; check the ND burn restriction map and your county before burning.

Official source: nddesgis.nd.gov →

Check the live restriction status: burnrestrictions.nd.gov →

General legal information, not legal advice — verify important decisions with a licensed attorney.