The City of Batavia Municipal Code sets out the rules for open burning. To summarize the following rules apply within the Batavia city limits:
- Fires started and attended by the Fire Department personnel are allowed.
- No fire can be larger than 3 feet diameter by 2 feet high, except with a permit.
Burning the following items is never allowed:
- Any combustible materials included, but not limited to, automotive equipment or parts, construction materials
- Debris and garbage
- Leaves, brush, landscape waste
- Industrial wastes, oil, paints, paper, petroleum products
- Plastic
- Rags
- Refuse
- Lumber, wood, or wood products other than seasoned firewood or charcoal
For fires that are allowed, the following rules apply:
- A fire cannot be less than 50 feet away from any structure
- There must be some sort of provision made to keep the fire from coming within 50 feet of a structure. There are exceptions to this, mainly to accommodate grills, so please refer to the code, F-307.7 for details.
If you live in the city, along with everything listed above, you will also have to follow Kane County’s open burn ordinance. Those rules include:
- Wind cannot exceed 10 mph
- Not during announced inversion conditions, that’s when the cold air at the ground gets trapped under a layer of warmer air, or ozone alerts
If you live in the Batavia Fire District, (if you have a red sign in front of your property with your address on it) you are allowed to burn landscape waste. Landscape waste is defined as all accumulations of grass or shrubbery cuttings, leaves, flowers, and weeds. Brush means tree trunks, limbs, branches, and twigs. For more information on Kane County restrictions and exemptions visit countyofkane.org.
If you have any questions related to open burning, please call the Batavia Fire Department at 630-454-2100.