Utah Fire Pit Codes, Permits and Clearances

Statewide Rules

Utah has a statewide fire code that binds cities and counties. The State Fire Code is the 2024 International Fire Code (IFC) as the Legislature amends it, and it took effect July 1, 2026. Utah's amendments do not change the recreational fire distance, so the model code's 25 ft is the statewide rule.

The State Fire Code

The State Fire Code incorporates "the International Fire Code, 2024 edition, excluding appendices," except as amended by Part 2 of the chapter. It also incorporates NFPA 54, the National Fuel Gas Code, and NFPA 58, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code, both in the 2024 edition.

H.B. 45 of the 2026 General Session moved the edition from 2021 to 2024 and says it "takes effect on July 1, 2026."

What Binds Your City

The State Fire Code is "a code to which cities, counties, fire protection districts, and the state shall adhere in safeguarding life and property from the hazards of fire and explosion." A political subdivision may adopt a more restrictive fire ordinance to meet a public safety need, but it "may not ... enact or enforce a rule or ordinance that applies to a structure built in accordance with the International Residential Code, as adopted in the State Construction Code, that is more restrictive than the State Fire Code," subject to listed exceptions.

We did not find guidance on how that limit applies to a backyard fire, so ask your fire official.

Section 307 and Houses

For a structure built under the International Residential Code, the IFC's construction and design provisions apply only to premises identification, fire apparatus access, fire hydrants and water supplies, and construction permits, and "The administrative, operational, and maintenance provisions of this code apply."

Section 307 governs how you use fire on the property, so it applies at a house. The model code even writes an exception for one- and two-family dwellings into 307.4.3. Utah's statewide amendments to IFC Chapter 3 do not touch Section 307.

The statewide amendments to IFC Chapter 3 are to Sections 304.1.3 (vegetation), 310.8 (hazardous environmental conditions), 311.1.1 (abandoned premises) and 311.5 (placards).

Section 307 as Written

The recreational fire rules are the 2024 IFC text as written.

Recreational fires "shall not be conducted within 25 feet (7620 mm) of a structure or combustible material." Portable outdoor fireplaces must be used per the manufacturer's instructions and not operated within 15 ft of a structure or combustible material, except at one- and two-family dwellings. Recreational fires must be constantly attended until extinguished, with a 4-A extinguisher or other approved equipment on hand.

A recreational fire is an outdoor fire burning materials other than rubbish, with a total fuel area of 3 feet or less in diameter and 2 feet or less in height. A portable outdoor fireplace is defined as solid-fuel-burning. The distances run to a structure or combustible material, not to a property line, and we found no Section 307 distance written for a gas appliance.

An operational permit is required for open burning on public or private ground, with "Exception: Recreational fires."

Air Rules and No-Burn Periods

Utah's air rules sit beside the fire code. They make backyard wood fires permit-free, and they can stop them.

Open burning without a permit includes "campfires and fires used solely for recreational purposes where the fires are under control of a responsible person and the combustible material is clean, dry, wood or charcoal," as long as it does not create a nuisance. Other open burning needs a permit from the county or municipal fire authority (R307-202-7). But "No person may burn under this rule when the director issues a public announcement under Rule R307-302."

A "solid fuel burning device" means "fireplaces, wood stoves and boilers used for burning wood, coal, or any other nongaseous and non-liquid fuel, both indoors and outdoors." When fine particulate pollution is forecast to reach 25 micrograms per cubic meter in Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah or Weber counties, the Division of Air Quality's director announces a mandatory no-burn period, and a person within the rule's mapped nonattainment and maintenance areas "shall not use a solid fuel burning device unless it is the sole source of heat for an entire residence and registered with the director." The rule does not apply above 7,000 feet in elevation in six of those counties.

Gas is outside that definition, because it covers only nongaseous fuels. Neither the rule nor the Division's page names an outdoor fire pit, and the rule is written for devices used to provide comfort heating, so ask the Division if your case is unusual.

The page says "State regulations prohibit residents from burning wood or coal on no burn days." It lists "Wood Fireplaces," wood stoves, pellet stoves and coal burning stoves as prohibited, and lists "Natural Gas Appliances and Propane Stoves" as acceptable.

Fire Restrictions

Utah's State Forester declares fire restrictions in stages, area by area, for state land and private land in unincorporated areas. Inside a city or town, the city sets its own. The state's own definitions are the best summary.

Stage 1 allows open fires only within established public facilities in improved campgrounds and picnic areas, or "in permanently constructed fire pits at private homes where running water is present." Stage 2 reads "NO OPEN FIRES OF ANY KIND," and then says "Devices using pressurized liquid or gas fuels (stoves, grills, or lanterns) with a shut-off valve are allowed when used at least 3 feet from flammable material." The page says its definitions are generalized and vary between orders.

Orders are issued, changed and lifted through the season, and each one sets its own terms. The Active Fire Restrictions page on Utah Fire Info lists the orders in force by area, with the issuing agency and a link to each order, so read the current one for your area before you light. State orders rest on this statute.

When the state forester finds an area extremely hazardous, "The closure shall include, for the period of time the state forester considers necessary, the prohibition of open fires." Section 212 also says "Nothing in this chapter prohibits any resident within the area from full and free access to his home or property."

Cities and towns act under the State Fire Code's own hazardous conditions section.

When hazardous environmental conditions necessitate controlled use of an ignition source, including fireworks, lighters, matches, sky lanterns and smoking materials, "the legislative body of the municipality may prohibit the ignition or use of an ignition source" in mountainous, brush-covered, forest-covered or dry grass-covered areas, within 200 feet of waterways, trails, canyons, washes or ravines, in the wildland urban interface, or in a limited adjoining area drawn to make the closed area easy to identify. In an unincorporated area, the state forester may do so after consulting the county fire code official.

The state's restriction definitions do not name a gas fire pit or fire table. Stage 2 names stoves, grills and lanterns with a shut-off valve.

Gas Appliances and LP-Gas

The State Fire Code sends gas appliances to the fuel gas code. Utah adopts the fuel gas code through its construction code.

The State Construction Code incorporates "the 2024 edition of the International Fuel Gas Code, issued by the International Code Council."

"Permanently fixed-in-place outdoor decorative appliances shall be listed in accordance with ANSI Z21.97 and shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions."

The State Fire Code also adopts NFPA 54 and NFPA 58 in their 2024 editions (Utah Code §15A-5-103, above). Utah certifies the people who do the gas work.

The certification covers "the installation, modification, maintenance, cleaning, repair or replacement of the gas piping, combustion air vents, exhaust venting system or derating of gas input for altitude of a residential or commercial gas appliance." A current Utah licensed Journeyman or Residential Journeyman plumber license is documentation of exemption from the certification.

City and County Examples

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City does not pick its own edition. Its code points at the state's.

"The edition of the international fire code as adopted by section 15A-5-103, Utah Code Annotated, or its successor section is adopted by Salt Lake City as the fire code ordinance, rules and regulations of the city."

The city's amendments in section 18.44.020 cover penalties, hazardous materials reporting, hazardous environmental conditions, inspection records, fire escapes and aerial access roads. None is a recreational fire, open burning or permit section, so the 2024 IFC's 25 ft stands.

"Open burning is not allowed or permitted within Salt Lake City." A recreational fire, 3 ft by 2 ft or smaller, is marked "(Permit not required)." "Recreational fires shall not be conducted within 25 feet of a structure or combustible material." Portable outdoor fireplaces are not to be operated within 15 ft of a structure or combustible material.

The page was last modified in March 2026, before the state moved to the 2024 edition on July 1, 2026, so it cites the 2021 section numbers. The 25 ft text is the same in both editions. The page also warns that any recreational fire reported as a nuisance can be treated as a "Nuisance Fire," and that responding crews may require it to be put out.

Salt Lake County

Unified Fire Authority (UFA) serves Salt Lake County communities, including Millcreek, Midvale, Taylorsville, Herriman, Riverton and the unincorporated county. Its public guidance is the one place we found a distance for gas fire pits. It is guidance, not a code citation.

"Salt Lake County : Residential open burning is not allowed." Small recreational fires are limited to a fuel area of 3 ft by 2 ft, and "Verify that it is a green burn day by checking the air quality forecast." The page says "Keep open fires 25 feet away from structures or combustible materials. Fires contained in an improved barbecue pits or portable outdoor fireplace require a minimum of 15 feet of clearance. LP or natural gas fire pits or grills require 10 feet of clearance."

UFA cites no code section for the 10 ft figure. Section 307 of the 2024 IFC sets no distance for a gas appliance, so ask UFA how it applies the number to your unit. UFA's April 2024 Memo 24-054 repeats the wording.

City of St. George

St. George follows the state's code and adds a local order power of its own.

The city adopts the International Fire Code "as adopted and amended by the state, together with amendments thereto in the future made by the state." Its own revisions are to 101.1, 109.4 and 111.4. Section 9-9-2 authorizes the fire chief "to issue orders prohibiting open burning, open fires, or the use of any ignition source in any area of the city that is mountainous, brush covered, or forest covered" when a hazardous environmental condition requires it.

The order must be in writing and posted in at least three public places and on the city website, and violating it is a class B misdemeanor. We did not find St. George fire pit guidance on a city site, so ask St. George Fire whether an order is in force before you light.

Getting a Permit

What is required varies by city, county and air district, and the local fire official decides. This is what the sources above support.

• Wood recreational fire at a home. No operational permit under the IFC exception (105.5.36) or the state air rule (R307-202-6). Check for a mandatory no-burn period and any fire restriction first.
• Open burning of yard waste. Not allowed in Salt Lake City or Salt Lake County. Elsewhere it needs a permit from the county or municipal fire authority, where it is allowed at all.
• Gas line to a fire feature. Work for a licensed plumber or a certified natural gas technician (R156-55a-308b). We did not pull a city permit citation for gas piping, so ask your building department what the permit covers.
• Gas fire table or other permanent gas appliance. Listing to ANSI Z21.97 and installation per the manufacturer's instructions (IFGC 635.1).
• Propane. The State Fire Code adopts NFPA 58 (2024). We did not pull a rule specific to a homeowner's cylinder.

What This Means for Your Build

Wood. Plan on 25 ft between the fire and any structure or combustible material. That is the State Fire Code, and neither Salt Lake City nor St. George changes it. The distance runs to the structure, not your property line. The air rules and fire restrictions are what stop wood fires in practice. On the Wasatch Front, a mandatory no-burn period bars solid fuel devices and burning under the general burning rule. In unincorporated areas, a Stage 1 or Stage 2 order can limit or ban open fires, and your city sets its own restrictions inside city limits.

Gas. A gas unit is outside the solid fuel rule by its own definition, and the Division of Air Quality lists natural gas appliances and propane stoves as acceptable on no-burn days. That is the tradeoff to weigh against a wood pit, along with one open question: the state's fire restriction definitions name gas stoves, grills and lanterns, not fire tables, so ask your fire authority before lighting one under a restriction. Start with the installation manual for your unit. It sets the clearances, and the listing requirement in IFGC 635.1 applies to a permanent installation. Run your feature type and fuel through the clearance checker for the published manufacturer minimums, and use the gas line sizing calculator to see whether your existing line can feed the burner before you call anyone. Gas lines and connections go to a licensed plumber or a certified natural gas technician.

Propane. Utah adopts NFPA 58 (2024) in the State Fire Code. We did not pull a rule specific to a homeowner's cylinder, so ask your propane supplier or installer how it applies.

This page covers Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County and St. George. Your city or county may have added rules these three did not, and your fire official's reading governs.