Procedures and restrictions for open burning

• An application for an open burning permit must be submitted 7 days prior to date of burn.  Once you have emailed the completed form to us, a fire department representative will visit the proposed burn site. The application is then forwarded to the St. Joseph County Health Department for their approval. The total process from application to approval will take at least two days (not including mail delivery time, if applicable).
• Burning is not allowed until you receive your permit in the mail from the Health Department.
• The permit is good for the time period you listed on the application (not to exceed two weeks).
• All burning must take place between dawn and dusk.​
• Even though a permit has been issued, the fire must be extinguished if a health-related complaint is received.
• Burn piles must not be any larger than three feet high and five feet in diameter, and must be at least 25 feet away from other combustibles such as bushes, wood piles, or buildings. The burning site must be attended at all times.​
• The permit does not allow for burning of stumps, grass clippings, leaves, finished lumber or other construction materials.
• The open burning permits were designed for storm clean-up, not clearing a lot for construction.

If you have any questions not answered above, please contact us at 291-1677 or the St. Joseph County Health Department’s Environmental Division at 235-9721.