Gorge Journal · Land Ownership
Kentucky’s fall forest fire hazard season opens October 1 and runs through December 15, and for anyone who owns land near the Red River Gorge it changes what is legal on your own property. Kentucky burn laws do not simply discourage burning during that window — they make burning near woodland illegal for twelve hours of every day. If you are clearing a cabin site, burning brush from a new driveway cut, or dealing with storm debris, the calendar matters as much as the weather.
When is Kentucky’s fall fire hazard season?
October 1 through December 15. Kentucky also runs a spring season from February 15 through April 30, so roughly five months of the year fall inside a hazard season.
The Kentucky Division of Forestry publishes both windows on its outdoor burning page: “Spring Forest Fire Hazard Season: Feb. 15 – April 30” and “Fall Forest Fire Hazard Season: Oct. 1 – Dec. 15.” The authority behind them is KRS 149.400, titled “Fire hazard seasons — Fires prohibited — Exceptions” in the Kentucky Revised Statutes.
The two seasons are not arbitrary. Both sit on either side of the growing season, when leaf litter is cured and on the ground and the canopy is open. In the Gorge that fuel load is significant, and the terrain that makes the property attractive — steep, wooded, hard to reach — is exactly what makes a fire there difficult to stop.
What can you legally burn during fire hazard season, and when?
Not within 150 feet of woodland or brushland between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Outside those hours, or when the ground is snow-covered, the restriction does not apply.
The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet states the rule directly: “During fire seasons, it is illegal to burn anything within 150 feet of any woodland or brushland between the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.” The exception it gives is “between 6 p.m. through 6 a.m., or when the ground is covered with snow.”
Read that measurement against a Gorge parcel and the practical effect becomes clear. A hundred and fifty feet is not much distance on wooded acreage. On most of the land that sells in Powell, Wolfe, Menifee and Lee counties, there is no point on the property that is more than 150 feet from woodland or brushland. For those parcels the daytime restriction is effectively total for two and a half months this fall — not a setback you can design around, but a schedule you have to work inside.
On most wooded Gorge acreage there is nowhere on the property that is 150 feet from woodland. The restriction is not a setback. It is a clock.
Can your county add its own burn ban on top of the state rule?
Yes. Kentucky law expressly contemplates local bans, so the state season is a floor rather than the whole picture, and a county or city ordinance can be stricter.
The statute is KRS 149.401, “City or county ordinance banning open burning during fire hazard periods”. That is why “is it legal to burn today?” is a two-part question in the Gorge: what does the state season say, and has the county issued a ban. The Division of Forestry advises checking with your local fire department and county government before any outdoor burning, and that is the right habit — especially if your parcel sits in one county and your mailing address is in another, which happens constantly out here.
Land that adjoins the national forest carries a third layer. Federal restrictions on campfires and open burning inside the Daniel Boone National Forest are issued separately and change with conditions; the Daniel Boone National Forest alerts page is where the Forest Service posts them. Those orders bind activity on federal ground, not on your deeded acreage, but if your property line is the forest boundary, what happens on one side reaches the other.
What happens if a fire you set gets away from you?
Kentucky has two separate cost-recovery mechanisms aimed at the person responsible for a fire — one for firefighting costs and one for damages. Both sit in KRS Chapter 149.
The chapter includes KRS 149.180, “Collection of costs of firefighting from person responsible for fire — Disposition,” and KRS 149.430, “Liability of violator for state and private damages — Disposition of damages.” A related provision, KRS 149.370, is titled “Acts creating fire hazards in forests prohibited.” The full text of each is on the Legislative Research Commission’s Chapter 149 page, and this is a place to read the statutes yourself rather than take a summary — including this one.
The exposure is worth understanding before you own the land rather than after. A fire that leaves your property on steep, wooded terrain can involve state suppression resources, private neighbors, and federal ground in the same afternoon.
What this means if you are buying Gorge land this fall
Buyers routinely plan the clearing before they plan the closing, and the two calendars collide in October. If your plan for a new parcel involves burning brush — from a driveway cut, a cabin pad, a fence line, or a timber cleanup — the state season has already narrowed your legal window to overnight hours by the time most fall closings fund.
The workable version is to decide the disposal method before you close, not after. Chipping, hauling, or leaving material to break down are all still available in daylight. Burning is the one that is on a clock. This is the same category of question as how you will legally reach the property and what the recorded documents actually permit — the answers are cheap to get before a contract and expensive to get after. If you are still early, the guide to buying land in the Red River Gorge covers the rest of the diligence sequence, and the Daniel Boone National Forest overview explains what adjoining federal ground means for an owner.
Frequently asked questions
Does the fire hazard season ban campfires and grills too?
The state rule as the Division of Forestry states it applies to burning anything within 150 feet of woodland or brushland during the restricted hours. Because that language is broad and local ordinances and federal forest orders can be stricter, check the county and, if you are near or on national forest ground, the Forest Service alerts before assuming a contained fire is fine.
Can I burn at night during fire hazard season?
The Cabinet gives 6 p.m. through 6 a.m. as the exception to the daytime prohibition, along with snow cover. That is the state rule only. A county burn ban can close the overnight window as well, so confirm locally before you light anything.
Does the season apply on land that is not wooded?
The restriction is written around proximity — within 150 feet of woodland or brushland — not around what your own parcel is classified as. An open field within 150 feet of a neighboring treeline is inside the rule, which is why measuring from the fire to the nearest woods matters more than looking at your own deed.
Last updated: September 4, 2026.
By Marcos Gil, REALTOR® — Keller Williams Commonwealth · KY Real Estate License No. 296259 · Call or text (859) 310-1209.
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