Burn Bans

LawLert last read the Rhode Island DEM wildfire-danger page on October 9, 2026 and cannot re-read it. Rhode Island's fall fire-weather season is in effect: it began October 1, 2026 and runs to December 15, 2026. Rhode Island's two fire-weather seasons run February 15 to April 30 and October 1 to December 15, and DEM says Red Flag Warnings are usually issued only in those spring and fall windows. DEM does not publish a current fire-danger class as text on its wildfire danger status page, so this entry gives the standing law and not today's level: check dem.ri.gov/ri-wildfire-danger-status, or your local fire department, before you burn. Every open-air fire in Rhode Island needs a written permit (verified September 20, 2026): under R.I. Gen. Laws 2-12-6 no one may burn flammable material on or next to forest land without a written permit issued under the DEM director's rules, and in practice you get that permit from your local fire department, because the statute lets a fire chief authorize a senior officer to issue burning permits and DEM tells residents to contact their local fire department. Fire departments can refuse a permit when conditions are dangerous, some cities ban open burning outright, and a violation carries a fine of $10 to $100, or 10 to 30 days in jail, or both (verified September 20, 2026). Whoever lights a permitted fire must fully extinguish it before leaving. When the National Weather Service issues a Red Flag Warning, open campfires may not be allowed on DEM-managed land including state campgrounds, parks and management areas: contact the campground for active restrictions. DEM splits the state into District 1 (Providence, Bristol and Newport counties) and District 2 (Kent and Washington counties). The DEM air regulation on open fires, 250-RICR-120-05-4, is a separate rule that reaches waste facilities and salvage, industrial, commercial or institutional burning, not ordinary residential brush burning.