DEC Reminds New Yorkers: Annual Residential Brush Burning Prohibition Starts March 16

Spring Burn Ban Reduces Wildfire Risks, Protects Lives and Property

A reminder that, due to drier and warmer winter weather, DEC has a statewide ban on residential brush burning that started on March 16 and runs through May 14. The regulations allow residential brush fires only in towns with fewer than 20,000 residents (Guilderland has over 36,000 residents) during most of the year, but bar residential burning in spring when most wildfires occur. The regulations allow backyard fire pits and campfires less than three feet in height and four feet in length, width, or diameter and small cooking fires but with only charcoal or dry, clean, untreated, or unpainted wood. DEC’s Fire Danger Map for the 2026 fire season shows each region’s potential fire risk.

https://dec.ny.gov/news/press-releases/2026/3/dec-reminds-new-yorkers-statewide-residential-brush-burning-prohibition-starts-march-16