Cooking Fire

A cooking fire is defined as an open burn contained within the confines of a barbecue grill or similar device used solely for cooking purposes.

No permit is required for a cooking fire.

Must be solely for cooking purposes and flames must be contained within the confines of the device being used.

Must be 10 ft from any structure.

FIRE PITS/OPEN BURNING/BURN PERMITS

Trash or any other materials such as tires, construction material, treated lumber, and asphaltic materials are prohibited from being placed in any fire. Smoke complaints may result in the fire being required to be extinguished.

When under a burn ban, no open burning (other than a cooking fire) is allowed, and no burn permits will be issued. The City of Cape Coral is NOT currently under a burn ban.

Recreational Burn

A recreational burn is defined as an outdoor fire for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth or similar purposes and is not contained in an incinerator, outdoor fireplace, portable outdoor fireplace, or barbecue grill or pit. This type of burn includes fire pits.

No permit is required for a recreational burn.

Only firewood and clean unsawn wood may be used for fuels.

Must have a method to put out the fire (such as a hose or fire extinguisher) capable of total extinguishment of the burn area.

Must be 25 ft from any structure.

Burn area must be cleared of any extraneous combustible material and cannot be larger than 3 ft in diameter and 2 ft in height.

Bonfire

A bonfire is defined as a supervised outdoor fire utilized primarily for ceremonial purposes that has a fuel area greater than 3 ft in diameter and greater than 2 ft in height.

A City of Cape Coral Special Event Permit is required for a bonfire.

Maximum size for burn pile is 10 x 10 x10 ft.

Must be supervised by a competent, trained individual approved by the Fire Marshal.

Must be 50 ft from any structure.

Must have either (1) a water source large enough to completely extinguish the fire or (2) a manned fire truck on standby (additional costs will apply). A standby fire engine and crew shall be required if the bonfire takes place on City of Cape Coral property.

Burn is limited to 3 hours.

Land Clearing and Controlled Burns

Land clearing and controlled burns are defined as the destruction and reduction of land clearing waste on properties through a controlled open burning process resulting from permitted land-clearing operations, agricultural operations, natural disasters, and may include the use of an Air Curtain Destructor (ACD) or Pit Incinerator (PIT).

The following are required for a controlled burn:

A Fire Burn Permit.
- Approval to burn will be granted after paperwork is reviewed by the Fire Marshal, permit is paid for and received, and a site inspection is completed by a fire inspector.
- Permit fee is $80.

A Customer or Authorization number and approval from the Florida Forest Service (FFS) by visiting https://www.fdacs.gov/Forest-Wildfire/Wildland-Fire/Burn-Authorizations or calling (239) 690-8001. If the burn will take place on multiple days, you are responsible for contacting FFS to acquire permission to burn on the morning of each day of the burn.

On the day of the burn(s), applicant must contact the Non-Emergency Dispatch Line at (239) 574-3223.

In addition to the above, the following may be required for land clearing and fill:

A Land Clearing and Fill Permit from the Development Services Department Division of Land Development