There's nothing like a backyard fire on a crisp fall evening in Kootenai County. Before you light one, know the rules — Kootenai County Fire & Rescue spells them out, and they're simpler than most people expect.
For recreational and cooking fires, no burn permit is required. But the fire itself has to follow the rules: keep the pit no larger than 3 feet in diameter, clear a 10-foot area around it of anything flammable, and keep the fire at least 25 feet from any structure. Have a hose or shovel on scene, never leave the fire unattended, and make sure it's cold to the touch before you walk away.
Air quality matters too. On any day you plan to burn, call the Department of Environmental Quality at 1-800-633-6247 (option 3 for the Kootenai County area) to check the burn-day status. Burn only on GREEN air quality days — if the air is yellow or red, the fire waits for another night.
Bigger open burning — clearing brush or burning yard debris — is a different story and requires a free burn permit from Kootenai County Fire & Rescue. Their number is 208-777-8500. When in doubt about which category your fire falls into, call and ask.
A few common-sense additions for village life: keep fires modest, be mindful of smoke drifting toward neighbors' windows and patios, and skip the fire entirely on windy nights. What smells like autumn to you might smell like a problem to the family next door.
Follow the size limits, respect the burn-day call, and put the fire truly out when the evening ends — and fall fire pit nights can be one of the season's best simple pleasures.
One more practical tip: save the numbers before the first fire of the season. Put the DEQ burn-day line and the Kootenai County Fire & Rescue number in your phone contacts now, so the green-day check takes ten seconds instead of ten minutes of searching.
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