Fire Pit Regulations in Wisconsin (WI)

Two Different Questions: Where You Live, and What You Are Burning

Wisconsin has no statewide fire-pit rule. It has a forest fire statute covering unincorporated land in the northern and central counties, an air rule that says what may never be burned anywhere, and a patchwork of city and village ordinances that do the real work for most homeowners. The forest fire law, Wis. Stat. § 26.12(5), starts from a prohibition: "No person may set any fire except for warming the person or cooking food" inside an intensive forest protection area at any time of year, or inside an extensive protection area from January through May, unless the ground is snow-covered or a fire warden has given written permission in advance. The DNR's rule, Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 30, repeats the exemption: no permit is needed "when a fire is set and designed solely for warming the person or cooking food" (NR 30.03(1)(b), NR 30.04(1)(a)).

• A recreational fire pit is the exemption. The DNR's burning permits page says "small fires for warming or cooking purposes do not require a DNR burning permit" and are allowed any time of day "except during Emergency Burning Restrictions." The one trap: "If you are burning in a campfire ring or fire pit with the intent to eliminate debris, a DNR burning permit is required." Feeding yard waste into the pit turns a campfire into debris burning.
• Cities and villages are outside the DNR system. NR 30.01 and 30.02 define the protection areas as lands "outside of the limits of incorporated cities and villages," and the DNR states flatly that "DNR burning permits do not apply within incorporated cities and villages." Your fire department, not the DNR, sets the rules there.
• Only part of the state is covered at all. Intensive areas (NR 30.01) are the forested north and central counties — Vilas, Oneida, Bayfield, Douglas, Marinette, Adams, Juneau and about two dozen more, some only in part. Extensive areas (NR 30.02) are a band of southern and central counties — Dane, Sauk, Columbia, Portage, Waupaca, Marquette and others — with a January–May permit season. The southeast, including Milwaukee, Waukesha, Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago counties, is not DNR-regulated; the daily restriction feed simply says "DNR burning permits are not required in this county" and refers you to local officials.
• Air rules apply everywhere. NR 429.04 declares "Open burning is prohibited with the following exceptions" and lists "outdoor fires for cooking, ceremonies or recreation" as one. The exceptions never reach wet rubbish, garbage, oily substances, asphalt, plastic or rubber products, and NR 30 forbids issuing a permit for anything that violates NR 429.04. Clean, dry wood is the only safe fuel.
• No statewide setback, by design. Wisconsin's fire prevention code, SPS ch. 314, adopts NFPA 1 (2012) rather than the International Fire Code, and SPS 314.01 limits it to "all public buildings and places of employment"; one- and two-family dwellings appear only in the exclusions. A private backyard is outside the state fire code, so distance, size and hours are whatever your municipality has written.

The Annual Permit, the 6 p.m. Window, and Daily Restrictions

If you live in a DNR protection area and want to burn brush or leaves, the DNR's annual burning permit is free, issued instantly online or by phone at 1-888-WIS-BURN (947-2876) from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and is issued to a person, not an address. It covers small amounts of yard debris or clean wood from a single household, burned where it was generated. A permit alone does not let you light a match: NR 30 requires every permit to carry restrictions on "time of day," "location" and "minimum required precautionary measures," and those come out as the daily burning restrictions.

• The standard condition is 6 p.m. to midnight. The DNR's text-only restrictions page and its data feed show the same template for every intensive-area county on a normal day: burning is allowed "with a DNR annual burning permit from 6 pm to midnight" for a covered barrel, a debris pile under 6 × 6 × 6 feet, or a grass or wooded area under 1 acre. Anything bigger needs a special permit from the local DNR ranger station after an inspection.
• Check after 9 a.m. every day. The permits page tells you to check your county's restrictions after 9 a.m. on the day you burn. The map version is WisBurn, which shows the fire danger rating alongside the permit status; on high-danger days the DNR suspends annual permits county by county. In the extensive counties the feed reads "A DNR annual burning permit is not required from June 1st to December 31st," and burning is allowed any time unless emergency restrictions are on.
• Emergency Burning Restrictions reach campfires too. Under NR 30.05(1)(a), once the DNR secretary issues an order it is unlawful to "build a campfire in any manner except in developed camping areas" without a special permit, to burn any combustible material without one, or to smoke outdoors except at a residence or in a vehicle with an ashtray. This is the only state-level situation in which a backyard warming fire in a protection area becomes illegal.

Carry the permit while you burn and show it to any officer or firefighter who asks. The DNR warns that skipping the permit, ignoring the daily restrictions or letting a fire escape "may lead to a citation," and that anyone whose fire starts a wildfire is liable for all suppression costs.

What Cities Require

• Milwaukee: the City Clerk's ordinance FAQ summarizes Ord. 214-9: backyard fire pits are allowed if "built of metal, concrete or brick, well covered or screened to prevent the escape of sparking and burning embers" and at least 15 feet from any combustible structure. A charcoal or gas grill used for cooking at a single- or two-family home is exempt from the 15-foot rule. No permit is mentioned. A 2013 proposal to raise the distance to 50 feet and add nuisance fines (File 120655) was placed on file by the Common Council, not adopted.
• Madison: the Fire Department's outdoor burning and fire pit pages apply MGO 34.307: wood pits "shall be allowed without a license" if 15 feet from a building or lot line, not on a combustible deck, porch or patio, fitted with a heavy screen or spark arrestor, burning clean dry wood only, supervised by a responsible adult with a hose or extinguisher at the ready, and not used when DNR air quality is worse than "moderate." Ground campfires are allowed only in approved campgrounds, and Madison has none.
• Green Bay: Green Bay Metro Fire's Recreational/Open Fire Guidelines restate Sec. 18-66 for single- and two-family lots. An in-ground pit must be 25 feet from any building, combustible material or property line, dug 6 to 12 inches down with a 6-inch non-combustible ring; the fire area is capped at 3 × 3 feet with flames under 3 feet. A portable, listed pit or fire table follows the manufacturer's clearances, or 15 feet if there are none, on a non-combustible surface 1.5 times its size. Homemade devices and converted grills are prohibited, no burning above 10 mph wind, an attendant 18 or older and extinguishing equipment are required, and the Fire Chief may declare a burning ban.
• Eau Claire: under Ord. 16.32.015(3), the city's campfire page says campfires "are allowed without a burning permit but are subject to restriction by the Fire Department at any time." A campfire is a fire in a noncombustible receptacle "typically 36 inches or less," a safe distance from houses, fences, garages, wires and trees (no number is given), clean dry firewood only, constantly attended with a hose or extinguisher. Nuisance smoke can be ordered out and violations carry a monetary penalty. Parts of the county outside the city are a DNR protection area.
• Appleton: the city requires a permit for any outdoor fire not fueled by natural gas, propane or charcoal: $15 for a day or $30 for a calendar-year seasonal permit, after an appliance and site inspection. Pits are capped at 36 inches in diameter with a screened, covered enclosure, 10 feet from buildings, fences and property lines; hours are 6 a.m.–10 p.m. Sunday–Thursday and 6 a.m.–midnight Friday, Saturday and before federal holidays; no burning above 9 mph wind; natural wood or manufactured logs only; an adult 18 or older with a hose, 5-gallon bucket or extinguisher. No permits for buildings of three or more units.
• Oshkosh: recreational fires "are prohibited in the City of Oshkosh without a valid permit," per the Fire Department's rules. The permit is free and good for a calendar year. Single- and two-family homes only, 15 feet from buildings, combustibles and lot lines, 36 inches or 7 square feet, dry wood only, attended by someone 18 or older with a hose, 5-gallon bucket or 4A extinguisher, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Sunday–Thursday or 11 a.m.–midnight Friday–Saturday. Fires without a permit on hand "will be extinguished immediately."

Penalties and Liability Under Chapter 26

• Walking away: anyone who sets a fire and leaves it without totally extinguishing it forfeits up to $100 for a first offense; a later offense is a fine of up to $500, up to 30 days in jail, or both (Wis. Stat. § 26.14(5)).
• Escape: letting a fire "escape and become a forest fire" is a fine of up to $1,000, 90 days, or both (§ 26.14(6)), and the person "shall be liable for all expenses incurred in the suppression of the fire by the state or town" (§ 26.14(9)(b)). Chapter 26 also lets a landowner recover double damages for a fire caused by willfulness, malice or negligence.
• No permit: § 26.12 has no penalty clause of its own, so the chapter's catch-all applies — a forfeiture of up to $50 (§ 26.98), rising under § 26.985 to $100 and up to 6 months with a prior conviction in 5 years, and $2,000 and 9 months for three or more in 3 years.
• Local citations are separate and more common: every city above reserves the right to extinguish the fire and write a ticket.

Sources

• Wis. Stat. § 26.12 — Forest protection areas (permit requirement; warming and cooking exemption; snow-cover exception)
• Wis. Stat. § 26.14 — Forest fires; penalties and suppression-cost liability
• Wis. Stat. §§ 26.98–26.985 — General penalty and repeat-offender escalation
• Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 30 — Forest Fire Control (protection-area lists, NR 30.03/30.04 permit rules, NR 30.05 emergency burning restrictions)
• Wis. Admin. Code NR 429.04 — Open burning prohibitions and exceptions
• Wis. Admin. Code SPS 314.001 and 314.01 — Fire prevention code: NFPA 1 adoption and scope
• Wisconsin DNR — Burning Permits (campfire exemption, debris in a fire ring, cities and villages, daily restrictions, legal materials, liability)
• Wisconsin DNR — Fire Danger and Burn Permit Restrictions (text-only) and the county restrictions data feed (6 p.m.–midnight condition, pile size, counties where no DNR permit is required)
• Wisconsin DNR — WisBurn fire danger and burn restrictions map
• City of Milwaukee City Clerk — Frequently Asked-About Ordinances (Ord. 214-9 grills and fire pits); Common Council File 120655 (2013 fire-pit substitute ordinance, placed on file)
• Madison Fire Department — Outdoor and Open Burning (MGO 34.307); Fire Safety Guidance for Portable Outdoor Wood Fireplaces & Fire Pits
• Green Bay Metro Fire Department — Recreational/Open Fire Guidelines for City of Green Bay (Sec. 18-66)
• City of Eau Claire — Campfires (Ord. 16.32.015(3))
• City of Appleton — Outdoor Fireplace Permits
• City of Oshkosh Fire Department — Recreational Burning Rules

Statutes, DNR guidance, and city rules last reviewed October 2026.