Independence Day has passed, but fire season hasn't — it runs all summer, and the two separate layers of law that decide whether a backyard show is legal keep moving. The first is your state's fireworks law — what you can buy and light, set state by state and tightened county by county. The second moves much faster: fire restrictions and burn bans, which escalate and lift through the summer as heat and drought conditions change — and an active burn ban can make even perfectly legal fireworks unlawful to use where you're standing.
Every status below is pulled live from LawLert's database — dated, and linked to the official state source. 0 of the 51 state fire-restriction entries were re-verified within the last week.
Live fire-restriction & burn-ban status, state by state
Fire restrictions are issued statewide in some states and county-by-county in others (Texas, for example, has no statewide ban — counties issue their own, and roughly 80 of 254 had one active in late June 2026). Each entry links to the official source and to LawLert's live state page, which also carries campfire and open-burning rules.
AlaskaConditionalverified Jul 27, 2026
Burn permits are required statewide April 1–Aug 31 for open debris burning, burn barrels and lawn burns; campfires under 3 ft across for cooking or warming normally need no permit. ACTIVE CLOSURE —…
ArizonaConditionalverified Jul 29, 2026
Restrictions are easing as the monsoon arrives, but they have not all gone away. The BLM rescinded ALL seasonal fire restrictions on July 23, 2026 for public lands in its Colorado River and Phoenix…
CaliforniaConditionalverified Jul 30, 2026
CAL FIRE has SUSPENDED residential outdoor (debris) burning in the State Responsibility Area of roughly two dozen counties per its official burn-status table, re-checked July 30, 2026 — Butte, Del…
ColoradoConditionalverified Jul 29, 2026
Colorado has no single statewide fire ban — Stage 1 / Stage 2 restrictions are set separately by each county, national forest, BLM district and national park, and much of the state remains in drought…
DelawareConditionalverified Jul 27, 2026
Delaware's annual statewide open-burning ban ("Ozone Season") is in effect NOW — most open burning is prohibited May 1 through Sept 30 (DNREC, 7 DE Admin. Code 1113). Cooking fires, recreational…
FloridaConditionalverified Jul 29, 2026
No statewide or regional burn ban is in effect — the Florida Forest Service publishes one on its Current Wildfire Information page "if and when it becomes necessary," and none is posted (checked July…
GeorgiaConditionalverified Jul 27, 2026
Georgia's EPD summer open-burning ban is in effect NOW: May 1 through Sept 30, burning yard and land-clearing debris is prohibited in 54 north/central Georgia counties (incl. Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb,…
IdahoConditionalverified Jul 30, 2026
Idaho issues fire restrictions by area (national forest, BLM district, IDL protection area) — there is no single statewide Stage. Confirmed in effect: STAGE 1 on the Sawtooth National Forest,…
MarylandConditionalverified Jul 27, 2026
Maryland's summer open-burning prohibition is in effect NOW: under state air-quality regulation COMAR 26.11.07.03C, open burning is PROHIBITED June 1 through Aug 31 each year in Anne Arundel,…
MichiganConditionalverified Jul 27, 2026
Michigan has no statewide burn ban, but open burning of yard waste or debris is currently NOT allowed in some areas of the state (DNR fire alert, re-checked Jul 26, 2026; permits are withheld…
MinnesotaConditionalverified Jul 27, 2026
Minnesota requires a DNR burning permit for open debris burning statewide, with restrictions set county-by-county on the DNR's live map. ESCALATION IN EFFECT: Class IV burning restrictions have been…
MontanaConditionalverified Jul 29, 2026
Montana issues fire restrictions per land-management unit (county, national forest, BLM district, FWP site) — there is no single statewide Stage. As of July 29, 2026, Montana DNRC's official Active…
NevadaConditionalverified Jul 30, 2026
Stage 1 fire restrictions cover essentially all Nevada public land, and Great Basin National Park is at STAGE 2. Orders confirmed in effect on NevadaFireInfo.org as of July 30, 2026: the BLM Nevada…
New JerseyConditionalverified Jul 29, 2026
No burning restrictions are in effect anywhere in New Jersey as of July 29, 2026 — the N.J. Forest Fire Service's live Fire Danger Dashboard shows Campfire Restrictions: No AND Agricultural…
New MexicoConditionalverified Jul 29, 2026
STATEWIDE RESTRICTIONS ARE IN EFFECT ON STATE-JURISDICTION LAND. On April 6, 2026 the State Forester enacted fire restrictions covering all non-federal, non-Tribal and non-municipal land in New…
North DakotaConditionalverified Jul 30, 2026
North Dakota has no permanent statewide burn ban; restrictions come from local Fire Emergency Declarations and from federal orders, and federal restrictions expanded this week. NEW: the Sheyenne…
OklahomaConditionalverified Jul 30, 2026
No statewide Governor's burn ban is in effect, and county bans are at a summer low. Oklahoma Forestry Services' official burn-ban layer — all 77 counties, last updated July 20, 2026 — shows just ONE…
OregonConditionalverified Jul 29, 2026
Oregon's 2026 fire season is severe and restrictions are ESCALATING by unit (ODF-protected land has burned about 63,000 acres — roughly 2x its 10-year average — with about 408,000 acres burned…
South DakotaConditionalverified Jul 28, 2026
South Dakota has no single statewide burn ban, but public-land restrictions escalated this week. Black Hills National Forest went to STAGE 2 at 12:01 a.m. July 27, 2026 (Order BKF-194-2026, through…
TexasConditionalverified Jul 28, 2026
Texas has no statewide burn ban; outdoor burning bans are declared county-by-county by each commissioners' court. As of the Texas A&M Forest Service's official list generated July 27, 2026, 89 of…
UtahConditionalverified Jul 29, 2026
Statewide Stage 2 fire restrictions have been in effect on Utah's state and unincorporated private lands (including Trust Lands, state parks and WMAs) since June 26, 2026; no rescission is posted as…
WashingtonConditionalverified Jul 29, 2026
Washington regulates outdoor burning by land ownership and region. DNR's Eastern Washington burn ban — enacted July 17, 2026 and still posted as in effect on July 29 — covers all forest lands under…
WyomingConditionalverified Jul 28, 2026
Wyoming has no statewide burn ban — restrictions are issued per land-management unit and county, and they are widespread in late July 2026. Black Hills National Forest (Bearlodge Ranger District,…
AlabamaInfoverified Jul 29, 2026
No statewide wildfire Fire Alert or Drought Emergency is in effect (the most recent Alabama Forestry Commission statewide Fire Alert was issued April 13, 2026 and by its own terms ran only "at least…
ArkansasInfoverified Jul 28, 2026
No burn bans are in effect anywhere in Arkansas: the Arkansas Department of Agriculture Forestry Division's official Wildfire Danger & Burn Bans map, generated July 27, 2026 at 7:23 AM, reports "No…
ConnecticutInfoverified Jul 29, 2026
Connecticut has no statewide burn ban. DEEP's Daily Forest Fire Danger Report rates ALL COUNTIES LOW as of Wednesday, July 29, 2026 (next scheduled update Wed Aug 5, 2026 unless conditions change).…
District of ColumbiaInfoverified Jul 26, 2026
Open burning is generally prohibited in the District of Columbia year-round. Under DC air-quality rules (20 DCMR Chapter 6, §604) open fires are banned except for narrow permitted exceptions, and the…
HawaiiInfoverified Jul 26, 2026
Hawaii has no statewide stage-based fire-restriction system. Under state air rules (HAR 11-60.1 Subchapter 3), open burning is generally PROHIBITED with limited exceptions (cooking, fire training,…
IllinoisInfoverified Jul 26, 2026
Illinois has no statewide burn-ban system — restrictions are local. Standing state law (Illinois EPA): open burning of refuse is generally prohibited; in any town, or within 1 mile of a town of…
IndianaInfoverified Jul 28, 2026
Indiana has no statewide burn ban. Burn bans are issued locally — by a county's legislative body, a city or town, or a local fire chief, not the State Fire Marshal — and can appear quickly in dry…
IowaInfoverified Jul 26, 2026
Iowa has no statewide burn ban. Under Iowa Code §100.40, the State Fire Marshal may prohibit open burning in an area — at the request of a local fire chief, city council or board of supervisors —…
KansasInfoverified Jul 30, 2026
Kansas has no statewide emergency burn ban, but open burning is prohibited by default statewide under state air rules: K.A.R. 28-19-645 provides that "a person shall not cause or permit the open…
KentuckyInfoverified Jul 28, 2026
No burn bans are currently active in Kentucky: the Division of Forestry's official County Burn Bans page states it "is not aware of any local bans issued by County Judge-Executives" (checked July 27,…
LouisianaInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
No statewide burn ban is in effect (LDAF's fire-conditions page and 2026 news feed show no active statewide ban as of Jul 26, 2026, and LDAF's official parish burn-ban map layer currently lists zero…
MaineInfoverified Jul 28, 2026
Maine controls open burning day-by-day rather than with standing seasonal bans: a permit is required for most open burning — free online via the state burn-permit service (maineburnpermit.com) or…
MassachusettsInfoverified Jul 29, 2026
Massachusetts has no active statewide wildfire burn ban, but seasonal open burning is OUT OF SEASON — the open-burning season runs Jan 15–May 1 only (10 a.m.–4 p.m., permit required from your local…
MississippiInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
No statewide burn ban. Mississippi bans are county-by-county: the county Board of Supervisors requests one and the Mississippi Forestry Commission approves it; each ban expires at midnight on its…
MissouriInfoverified Jul 28, 2026
Missouri has no statewide burn ban, and the State Fire Marshal's official County Burn Bans page lists no active county bans (checked July 27, 2026). Bans are issued locally — a county commission,…
NebraskaInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
Nebraska's baseline law (Neb. Rev. Stat. §81-520.01) is a statewide open-burning ban on bonfires, outdoor rubbish fires and land-clearing fires — waived only by a burn permit from your local fire…
New HampshireInfoverified Jul 29, 2026
New Hampshire requires a written fire permit from your local Forest Fire Warden or fire department for ALL outside burning unless the ground has complete snow cover, and permits are issued only on…
New YorkInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
No statewide burn ban is in effect. New York's annual statewide residential brush-burning prohibition runs March 16 – May 14; outside that window DEC open-burning rules still apply, and burning…
North CarolinaInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
No state-issued burn ban in effect: the statewide ban issued March 28, 2026 was fully lifted — 81 counties on May 3 and the final 19 effective 8 a.m. May 8 — and none has been issued since…
OhioInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
No statewide burn ban, and Ohio's seasonal open-burning restriction is out of season: ORC 1503.18 bars most open burning in unincorporated areas 6 a.m.–6 p.m. only during March, April, May, October…
PennsylvaniaInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
No statewide burn ban (one requires a Governor's proclamation — none active), and the annual state-forest spring restriction (fire rings prohibited Mar 1–May 25) is out of season, though state-forest…
Rhode IslandInfoverified Jul 29, 2026
All open-air fires in Rhode Island (brush and yard debris) require a written permit from your local fire district, and some cities ban open burning outright. RI's fire-weather seasons run Feb 15–Apr…
South CarolinaInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
No State Forester's or Governor's Burning Ban is in effect (the March 2026 statewide ban was lifted March 30). When declared, a State Forester's Ban bars starting any fire in or adjacent to…
TennesseeInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
No active burn bans in Tennessee — the Division of Forestry's burn-ban page states none are active statewide and its county dashboard lists 0 of 95 counties (re-checked Jul 26, 2026). Counties CANNOT…
VermontInfoverified Jul 29, 2026
No state-issued burning restrictions are in effect (verified July 29, 2026 against Vermont FPR's live Wildfire Situation Update — Vermont statewide preparedness level 2, with 64 wildfires and 258.25…
VirginiaInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
No statewide burning restriction is in effect in July — Virginia's 4 PM Burning Law applies only Feb 15–Apr 30. During prolonged drought or elevated fire danger, individual localities may enact…
West VirginiaInfoverified Jul 29, 2026
West Virginia has no statewide burn ban right now, and the seasonal burning law is NOT in force in July: the restricted seasons are March 1-May 31 and October 1-December 31, when outdoor burning is…
WisconsinInfoverified Jul 27, 2026
Wisconsin has no statewide burn ban, and as of Jul 26, 2026 the DNR's official burn-restriction feed shows fire danger LOW in all 72 counties with no emergency burning restrictions. Debris burning…
Where consumer fireworks are legal in 2026
The product layer is its own map: most states permit at least some consumer fireworks, several allow only ground-based "safe and sane" items, and Massachusetts bans consumer fireworks outright. For the full plain-English breakdown, see Fireworks Laws by State (2026). The live status by state:
Permitted (12): AK, AL, AR, GA, IN, ND, OK, PA, SC, TX, WV, WY
Conditional / limited (34): AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, HI, IA, ID, KS, KY, LA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, RI, SD, TN, UT, VA, WA, WI
Restricted / banned (5): CT, DE, IL, MA, VT
On federal land, fireworks are banned — period
Headed to a national park, seashore, or forest this summer? Using or possessing fireworks on National Park Service land is prohibited under 36 CFR 2.38(b) outside narrow permit/designated exceptions — the NPS states plainly that fireworks are illegal on all land it manages. The Forest Service likewise prohibits fireworks on national forest land and warns of penalties up to a $5,000 fine and/or six months in jail (36 CFR 261.52) — plus liability for fire-suppression costs. Several states' own restriction orders on the live board above repeat it: on BLM/USFS public lands, fireworks are always prohibited. The LawLert app warns cannabis and firearms trackers as they enter any of 300+ mapped federal units — and the same boundary is where your fireworks must stay in the car.
The local rule wins
Even in a "permitted" state, counties and cities ban or narrow fireworks use — and drought-year emergency orders stack on top. LawLert resolves the rule for your exact location (city → county → state), shows the dated official source, and can alert you the moment a burn ban or fireworks rule changes where you are. That's the difference between a good show and an expensive one.
Can a burn ban make legal fireworks illegal?
Yes. Even where consumer fireworks are legal under state law, an active burn ban or fire-restriction order — issued statewide, by your county, or for public lands — can prohibit their use, and violations can carry fines or criminal charges. Always check the current restriction where you'll actually light them.
Are fireworks allowed in national parks or national forests?
No. Using or possessing fireworks on National Park Service land is prohibited under 36 CFR 2.38(b) outside narrow permit/designated exceptions, and the Forest Service prohibits them on national forest land, warning of penalties up to a $5,000 fine and/or six months in jail plus potential fire-suppression costs.
Where are consumer fireworks legal in 2026?
Most states allow at least some category of consumer fireworks, several allow only ground-based 'safe and sane' items, and Massachusetts bans consumer fireworks entirely. Counties and cities can restrict further — the local rule wins.
How do I check my county's current burn ban?
Burn bans move fast in fire season and can change week to week all summer. Open your state's live burn-ban page on LawLert for the current, dated status and the official source, or use the LawLert app to resolve the rule for your exact location and get an alert when it changes.