Burn Permits
Open Burning Information
Open burning of yard waste is limited to the period beginning September 15 and ending April 14 of each year. St Louis County Air Pollution regulations allow burning of yard waste if the property size is equal to or greater than 3 acres, except where the property shares a boundary with the Meramec or Mississippi rivers there is no minimum property size.
You should obtain an approval letter from the Mehlville Fire Protection District Fire Prevention Bureau prior to conducting an open burn. You should also have means available to control/extinguish your open burn.
- Notify Central County Fire Alarm at (636) 394-5442 on the day of the open burn, just before the fire being ignited.
- The yard waste must consist of only leaves, needles, brush, tree trimmings and other similar materials.
- Painted, creosoted, wolmanized or otherwise treated wood, garbage, rubbish, construction waste, demolition waste, petroleum-based materials, plastic, rubber, metal, liquid or solid fuels must NOT be used to fuel the fire.
- The fire must be completely extinguished before leaving the premises.
- Small burns must not exceed a base area of four (4) feet by four (4) feet, nor four (4) feet in height.
- Burning should take place between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm only.
The fire shall not cause smoke, ash or particulate matter to remain visible in the air or upon surfaces beyond the property line with the fire is occurring. Should this occur, it may be a violation of St Louis County Air Pollution regulations 612.345 Open Burning Regulations. Such an occurrence could result in issuance of a Notice of Violation from St Louis County.
Bonfires are allowed anytime during the year. There are limitations on materials used for a bonfire. Please refer to the Bonfire Information handout below.
Burn permit requests can be mailed to 11020 Mueller Road, Saint Louis, MO 63123-6943, faxed to 314.894.3964, or emailed by clicking here.
