Burn Bans

LawLert last read the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services open-burning page on October 9, 2026 and cannot re-read it. Massachusetts has no active statewide wildfire burn ban, and residential open burning is OUT OF SEASON today. The open-burning season runs each year from January 15 to May 1, so the next Massachusetts open-burning season runs from January 15, 2027 to May 1, 2027. In season, burning is allowed only between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., only under a permit required from your local fire department, and only at least 75 feet from all dwellings. Open burning is prohibited at all times in 22 densely built cities and towns: Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Malden, Medford, New Bedford, Newton, Somerville, Springfield, Waltham, Watertown, West Springfield and Worcester. In season you may burn brush, cane, driftwood and forestry debris from non-commercial clearing, agricultural materials, tree prunings and fungus-infected elm wood, and you may never burn leaves, grass, stumps, tires, construction debris, household trash or material from commercial or industrial land clearing. State fire wardens determine each day whether conditions are safe for open burning, so a permit does not guarantee you may burn on a given day. Outdoor cooking is allowed year-round in all communities and is not subject to open burning limits; a fire pit used for anything other than cooking falls under the open-burning rules. Burning illegally or letting a fire escape can bring a fine, jail time and liability for firefighting costs (M.G.L. c.48, s.13). Massachusetts can declare a statewide ban in a severe fire-weather spell: check the state open-burning page and your local fire department before you burn.