Tree waste rules in Alabama: burning permits, the burn law's misdemeanors and fire alerts
What the Alabama Forestry Commission says about burning brush, stumps, logs and other debris: the permit for fires in areas under organized forest fire protection, the offences in the burn law, and the fire alert and drought emergency steps that restrict permits.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows three pages of the Alabama Forestry Commission, which publishes the wording of the state burn law. They set no fee and no distance rule for burning tree debris, and they say county and city laws can add limits.
The permit
The Commission's burn permits page says Alabama law, section 9-13-11, requires a permit from the Commission for a prescribed burn for silvicultural and agricultural purposes. It says the permit in general rests on the burner having the people and equipment to hold the fire and promising to stay until it is out, and that a proposed fire under a quarter of an acre needs no permit. It also says a permit holder is responsible for any damage the fire or smoke does to others.
The permit is issued through the Commission's dispatch center by phone. Certified Prescribed Burn Managers can get one online. The caller reports the location by latitude and longitude, the approximate size of the burn, what is to be burned (grassland, fields or forests) and the general purpose, such as fire hazard reduction, regeneration or wildlife benefit. The page says the burn may not contain vehicle tires, construction material, household garbage or other material that the Alabama Department of Environmental Management prohibits.
The same page says the Commission may cancel a permit for failure to follow its terms, for a change in weather that makes fire behavior erratic and dangerous, or if the smoke becomes a hazard to others or harms air quality.
What the burn law lists
The Commission's page on the burn law sorts the offences by class.
| Class | Conduct the page lists |
|---|---|
| Class C felony | Willfully, maliciously or intentionally burning forest, grass, woodland or other inflammable vegetation on land the person does not own, lease, control or lawfully possess; possessing or placing a device meant to set such a fire next to land that is not the person's. |
| Class B misdemeanor | Letting a fire escape from the person's land so that another's property is hurt or destroyed; burning brush, stumps, logs, rubbish, fallen timber, grass, stubble or other debris without the precautions reasonably needed before and after lighting; burning such material in or near a forest or woodland without clearing the area around it of inflammable material for a reasonably safe distance in all directions; leaving a fire in or near a forest, woodland or grassland before it is totally extinguished; defacing fire warning notices; and burning new ground, fields, grasslands or woodlands inside an organized forest fire protection area without first getting verbal authorization and a burning permit number from the Commission. |
| Class A misdemeanor | Recklessly or with wanton disregard for the safety of people or property setting fire to forest, grass, woodland or other inflammable vegetation on land that is not the person's, without the owner's permission. |
The page adds that a permit is available from the district operations center when it is open, if the person has enough tools, equipment and people to stay with the fire and keep it under control for the whole burning period and will not leave it until it is dead out. Permits are issued on that statement unless the State Forester declares a fire alert. A permit can be revoked for failing to follow proper burning procedure or for weather that may cause erratic fire or smoke. If a permitted fire escapes onto another person's land and an investigation shows the holder did not meet the criteria, the fire is treated as if no legal authorization had been obtained. The page describes how the State Forester places an area under organized forest fire protection by proclamation, published once a week for two consecutive weeks, taking effect on the twelfth day after the first publication.
Fire alerts and no burn orders
On its burn restrictions page the Commission defines several levels; the first four are set out here.
- Red Flag Warning, from the National Weather Service: a short-term warning when the Keetch-Byram Drought Index is above 300, minimum relative humidity is under 25 percent and 20 foot winds are 15 mph or more, all for four hours or longer. The index test is suspended in a county under a fire alert.
- Fire Danger Advisory, from the Commission: it urges everyone to delay outdoor burning in very dry weather with low humidity.
- Fire Alert, from the State Forester for named counties, when there is an abnormal number of wildfires, several unusually large ones, or severe smoke harming air quality. The Commission may then restrict permits. On most days permits go to everyone who meets the requirements, but in a Fire Alert they go only to Certified Prescribed Burn Managers who have enough people and equipment.
- Drought Emergency, from the Governor, which the page says is often called a no burn order. It is a formal regulation with the effect of law and bars all outdoor burning, including prescribed burns, camp fires and trash fires. The page says it generally follows when the drought index is over 600 and there is on average more than one wildfire per county per day over a wide area. Cooking fires in a charcoal grill or masonry barbeque pit and gas grills are allowed.
The burn permits page also says some county and city laws restrict outdoor burning, and that burners are responsible for contacting their local government.
For other places see the table on tree waste and chip rules. Neighbouring Tennessee is on tree waste rules in Tennessee, and Georgia is in the same table.