Fire Pit Regulations in Maine (ME)

Maine's Rule Is Written Around a 3-Foot Fire

Maine regulates outdoor fire through its forest fire statute, Title 12, Chapter 807, and the whole scheme turns on one measurement. 12 M.R.S. § 9324(5) starts from a blanket rule — "No person, firm or corporation may burn out of doors without a permit from a town forest fire warden or forest ranger" — and then § 9325 carves out what may burn without one. For a homeowner the carve-out that matters is § 9325(2)(B): "residential use of outdoor grills and fireplaces for recreational purposes such as preparing food, as long as the fire does not exceed 3 feet in diameter in a fireplace or grill at the base of the fire and does not exceed 3 feet in height." A manufactured fire pit, chiminea, or masonry outdoor fireplace is a "fireplace" in that sense — Freeport's fire department says so in as many words: a residential fire contained within an outdoor fireplace falls in the recreational-campfire category, and only a fire that exceeds that size needs a burn permit.

• Campfires on the ground are different. § 9325(1)(A) lists "recreational campfires kindled when the ground is not covered by snow" among the fires that require a permit. Only when the ground is snow-covered or the fire is on a frozen body of water does a ground campfire go permit-free (§ 9325(2)(A)) — again capped at 3 feet by 3 feet.
• The 3-foot cap is now universal. A 2023 amendment added § 9324(9): no one kindling a recreational campfire outside a licensed campground may let it exceed 3 feet in diameter at the base or 3 feet in height. The state's online permit system puts it bluntly: since October 2023, permits are required for all fires greater than 3 × 3 feet, "regardless of whether they were previously considered 'recreational.'"
• Red flag means no fire, period. § 9324(10), also from 2023, bars open burning "including a recreational campfire" anywhere under a red flag warning — even the fires that normally need no permit. Licensed campgrounds and state campsites are the only exceptions.
• Nuisance and ordinances still apply. The no-permit exemption only holds "if no nuisance is created" and "when not prohibited by state rule, local ordinance or water utility regulation." Some towns require a permit for every outdoor fire; Kennebunk, for example, says a permit is required year-round, including for campfires on your own property.

Getting a Permit: Wardens, Rangers, and the State Website

Burn permits are free. They come from your town forest fire warden (usually the fire department), a Maine Forest Service ranger, or the state's online burn permit system, which covers debris piles and area burns up to 10 acres but not campfire permits, which must still come from a warden or ranger. The online system issues permits only between 9 a.m. and midnight and only on days the Maine Forest Service rates fire danger Class 1 or 2.

• Class days: 1 (low) and 2 (moderate) — permits issued; 3 (high), 4 (very high), 5 (extreme) — no permits. Kennebunk's warden can shut down burning on a Class 2 day if high winds are predicted. The daily rating is on the Maine Forest Service's Wildfire Danger Report.
• Hours: towns set them. Kennebunk allows open burning only after 5 p.m. on weekdays (9 a.m. on weekends) in spring, summer, and fall, and requires every fire out by 11 p.m. — nearly all Maine wildfires start between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., when wind and temperature peak.
• Pile size: permit piles are clean wood only and kept small — Kennebunk specifies 3-foot-diameter piles.

The Other Rules in § 9324 You Can Be Cited For

• Put it dead out. Anyone who builds or uses a camp, cooking, or other fire in or adjacent to woods must totally extinguish it before leaving (§ 9324(1)).
• You are liable. A person who kindles a fire on their own land must do so "at a suitable time and in a careful and prudent manner" and is liable in a civil action to anyone injured by failing to (§ 9324(2)). Towns add that permit holders remain responsible for suppression costs.
• Not on someone else's land without the owner's permission, except at public campsites (§ 9324(4)). Propane, gasoline, and Sterno stoves are exempt from that rule.
• No solid waste. Burning plastic, rubber, styrofoam, metals, food waste, chemicals, or treated wood is prohibited everywhere in Maine (§ 9324(7-A)); only clean wood wastes and untreated construction lumber are exempt, and those need a permit.
• Distance: the statute sets no setback. Wardens condition permits on site conditions, and most departments apply the standard fire-code spacing of 25 feet from structures for an open fire; keep a contained pit well clear of the house, eaves, and dry grass.

Sources

• 12 M.R.S. § 9324 — Prohibited acts (permit requirement, 3-foot recreational campfire cap, red flag prohibition, solid waste, liability)
• 12 M.R.S. § 9325 — Open burning (what needs a permit; grills and fireplaces exempt up to 3 × 3 feet)
• 12 M.R.S. Chapter 807 — Forest Fire Control (full chapter, generated Oct. 2025)
• State of Maine — Open Burn Permit (online system; 3 × 3 rule since October 2023; 9 a.m.–midnight issuance)
• Town of Freeport — Burn Permits and Burning Laws (outdoor fireplaces as recreational campfires; no charge)
• Town of Kennebunk — burning permit FAQ (class days, hours, pile size)

Statutes and town guidance last reviewed October 2026.