Burn Bans

New Hampshire requires a written permit from the local forest fire warden before any outside burning. Under RSA 227-L:17, no person, firm or corporation shall kindle or cause to be kindled any fire, or burn any material, except when the ground is covered with snow, without first obtaining a written permit from the forest fire warden; public recreational areas with a supervisor present are excepted. Violating the section is a misdemeanor. Kindling a fire willfully or recklessly so as to endanger a woodland is a misdemeanor for a natural person and a felony for any other person, and the person responsible is liable in a civil action for the expenses the forest fire warden or deputy warden incurred in attending or extinguishing the fire. LawLert cannot retrieve New Hampshire's daily fire-danger class, so this entry gives the standing law and not today's class: the Division of Forests and Lands posts it at nhdfl.dncr.nh.gov/forest-protection/daily-fire-danger, and your town's forest fire warden or local fire department, who issues the permit, can tell you whether burning is allowed today.