Open Burning Application Online Form

DEFINITIONS:

1.    Open Burning – the combustion of solid waste without:

   a.    Control of combustion air to maintain adequate temperature for efficient combustion.

   b.    Containment of the combustion reaction in an enclosed device to provide sufficient residence time and mixing for complete combustion.

   c.    Control of the combustion products’ emission.

2.    Bonfire – An outdoor fire used for ceremonial purposes.

3.    Recreational Fire – an outdoor fire burning materials other than rubbish where the fuel being burned is not contained in an outdoor fireplace, portable outdoor fireplace, or barbeque grill and has a total fuel area of 3 feet or less in diameter and 2 feet or less in height for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth, or similar purposes.

4.    Refuse – all solid waste products having the characteristics of solids rather than liquids and which are composed wholly or partially of materials such as garbage, trash, rubbish, litter, residues from clean up of spills or contamination or other discarded materials.  

5.    Rubbish (trash) – Combustible and noncombustible waste materials, including residue from the burning of coal, wood, coke or other combustible material, paper, rags, cartons, tin cans, metals, mineral matter, glass crockery, and dust. 

6.    Debris Waste – stumps, wood, brush, and leaves from land clearing operations.

The Following Activities Do Not Require a Permit:

1.    A recreational fire as defined above

2.    Outdoor fireplaces or portable outdoor fireplaces

3.    Warming of outdoor workers (fire size limited to 3 feet wide X 2 feet tall)

4.    Outdoor noncommercial preparation of food (barbeque grills)

Alternative Method of Disposal:

1.    Roanoke County General Services offers bulk collection throughout the county. Please contact them at (540) 387-6200 for their requirements and limitations.

Restrictions:

1.    No open burning is allowed from February 15th through April 30th except during the time frame of 4 p.m. and midnight (10.1-1142 Code of Virginia). Please contact the Fire Marshal’s Office for exceptions. 

2.    Open burning of clean burning waste and debris waste, resulting from property maintenance or land clearing and open burning of leaves, tree, yard, and garden trimmings are not allowed from May 1st through September 30th. This is in accordance with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) air quality regulations that place Roanoke County in the Western Virginia Emissions Control Area. 

3.    Where a brush collection service is provided by Roanoke County General Services, a permit to burn cannot be obtained by a homeowner to burn leaves, tree, yard, and garden trimmings. This restriction does not apply to rural parts of the County as determined by the Roanoke County Comprehensive Development Plan when conducted in compliance with applicable regulations.  This is also in accordance with DEQ air quality regulations. 

4.    Open burning shall be prohibited when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous.

5.    Refuse / rubbish (trash) cannot be burned.

6.    Petroleum based products shall not be burned.

Allowable Open Burning with a Permit:

1.    Open burning of leaves, tree, yard, and garden trimmings is allowed with a permit from the Roanoke County Fire Marshal’s Office if a brush collection service is not provided by Roanoke County General Services at the adjacent street or public road.  Rural parts of the County as determined by the Roanoke County Comprehensive Development Plan may obtain a permit for the open burning of leaves, tree, yard, and garden trimmings regardless of the availability of a collection service when conducted in compliance with applicable regulations. Open burning for this purpose is not allowed from the time frame of May 1st through September 30th.   

2.  Open burning or the special use of incineration devices is permitted for the destruction of clean burning waste and debris waste resulting from property maintenance, from the development or modification of roads and highways, parking areas, railroad tracks, pipelines, power and communication lines, buildings or building areas, sanitary landfills, or from other clearing operations. Open burning for this purpose is not allowed from the time frame of May 1st through September 30th.

3.   Bonfires are allowed with a permit from the Roanoke County Fire Marshal’s Office regardless of the time of the year or geographical area.

4.  A permit may be issued for certain forest management practices in accordance with the Department of Forestry and for certain agricultural practices. Please contact the Fire Marshal’s Office for further information regarding these circumstances.

General Requirements:

1.    The location for open burning shall not be less than 50 feet from any structure, and provisions shall be made to prevent the fire from spreading to within 50 feet of any structure.

   a.    Fires in approved containers can be 15 feet from a structure.

   b.    The distance can be decreased to 25 feet provided that the pile size is no larger than 3 feet wide and 2 feet in height.

2.    Open burning, bonfires, recreational fires, and the use of portable outdoor fireplaces shall be attended at all times.

3.    A means to extinguish the fire shall be provided which can be a fire extinguisher with a minimum 4-A rating, water hose, water barrel, dirt, etc.

4.    The location for open burning shall be a minimum of 300 feet from any occupied building that is not on the applicant / owner’s property. If this distance cannot be met, written permission may be obtained from the neighboring property. If the open burning is for land clearing operations, the minimum distance shall be increased to 500 feet.

5.    Open burning shall be conducted to ensure the best possible combustion with a minimal amount of smoke being produced. During open burning for land clearing operations, a special incineration device is required that is specifically designed to provide good combustion performance. The method and device shall be approved by the Fire Marshal’s Office.

Online Application

After reading and understanding the above restrictions and guidelines, Submit Your Online Application for Open Burning