Louisiana burn bans › Burning rules

Louisiana outdoor burning rules

Even when no burn ban is in effect, outdoor burning in Louisiana is regulated. A burn ban is an additional restriction layered on top of the rules that always apply.

Before you burn anything

• Check your parish's current burn ban status. Find your parish — status is refreshed daily.
• Call your parish fire marshal or sheriff's office. Orders can change faster than any statewide dataset updates, and the parish is the authority on its own order.
• Check whether you need a permit or authorisation for the type of burn you are planning, separately from any ban.
• Check the weather. Wind is the single biggest factor in an escaped fire.

What a burn ban adds

Under La. R.S. 29:727(G), violating a parish emergency order carries a fine of up to $500, up to six months in parish jail, or both. Many parish proclamations state no penalty of their own, in which case this statutory default applies — but check your parish's order, which may set its own terms.

Exceptions

• Prescribed burning, as defined in La. R.S. 3:17, is exempt from State Fire Marshal burning orders by statute under R.S. 40:1602(C). Parish orders commonly carry the same exemption, but not always.

If your fire escapes

Beyond any criminal penalty, you can be held liable for the cost of suppressing a fire you started and for damage to other people's property. That liability does not depend on whether a burn ban was in place.