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Tree waste rules in Kentucky: open burning of land clearing debris and the fire hazard seasons

What regulation 401 KAR 63:005 and sections 149.370, 149.400 and 149.991 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes say about burning natural growth from land clearing, the two fire hazard seasons with their 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. window and the penalties.

Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 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 regulation 401 KAR 63:005 on open burning, read through the Cornell Legal Information Institute copy whose history ends with a certification effective September 12, 2018, and Kentucky Revised Statutes sections 149.370, 149.400 and 149.991 as published by the Kentucky Legislature.

What the regulation says

According to 401 KAR 63:005, open burning is prohibited except as sections 4 and 5 allow. Section 1 defines wood waste as untreated wood and wood products, including tree stumps whole or chipped, felled trees, tree limbs whole or chipped, bark, sawdust, chips and slabs, and excludes yard waste, construction and demolition waste and clean lumber. It defines land clearing as clearing for agricultural, residential, industrial or commercial development, including road construction.

Among the burning allowed in section 4 are fires for disposal of natural growth for land clearing and maintenance, and trees and tree limbs felled by storms. These carry three conditions.

  • No extraneous materials such as tires or heavy oil are used to start or feed the fire.
  • The burning is done on days when conditions pose no threat of igniting a forest fire.
  • In Priority I particulate regions, emissions stay below 40 percent opacity.

The same section allows individual homeowners to burn leaves, except in cities over 8,000 people in a Priority I Region, and fires by county or municipal governments to dispose of wood waste or clean lumber. Section 5 limits land clearing burns for residential, commercial or industrial development to a maximum of two contiguous acres at one time, requires compliance with the fire hazard season law, and says the regulation does not authorize burning that a local ordinance prohibits. In listed nonattainment counties, section 5 allows only a short list of burning from May through September, which does not include land clearing.

Fire hazard seasons

According to KRS 149.400, the periods from February 15 to April 30 and from October 1 to December 15 are the fire hazard seasons. During them it is unlawful to set fire to flammable material capable of spreading fire in or within 150 feet of woodland or brushland, except between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time or when the ground is covered with snow. The section exempts fires for plant beds, fires by trained employees of railroad, utility and pipeline companies on their rights-of-way, and certain state agency habitat fires.

According to KRS 149.370, no one may, in or next to timberland, set fire to flammable material for debris removal, cooking, heating or light without first getting the landowner's permission and taking precautions to prevent the fire spreading to adjacent land, and all burning material is attended until it is out.

Penalties

According to the KRS 149.991 penalty section, violating KRS 149.360 to 149.430, other than 149.380, is punished by a fine of at least US$100 and no more than US$500, or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.

For other places see the table on tree waste and chip rules. Indiana has its own page: tree waste rules in Indiana.

Sources