Can You Legally Burn Trash In Your Fire Pit In Great Falls?

Winters are long in Montana.  With the weather getting better by the day, a lot of us are opening windows and letting the fresh air into our homes.

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I did this last weekend, and within minutes, my house smelled like it was on fire.  And I don't mean a campfire smell or even the smell of a grill.  It was a toxic chemical smell that immediately made me think someone was burning their trash IN TOWN.  That nasty smell was surrounding my house all weekend.

It got me thinking, are we allowed to burn trash in Great Falls?  Part of me knew the answer HAD to be NO, but I had to be sure.

Turns out, I was right.  According to The City of Great Falls, not only can't you burn trash in city limits, there are some laws about fire pits that I was unaware of.  You can check out all the rules on the link above. I'd like to highlight a couple because I was unaware of the rules, and I can't be the only one.

Hand dug fire pits are a no go inside city limits.  They have to be made of non-combustible materials.  So you can DIG a pit for the fire, but you have to have an actual fire pit inside of it.

To my question:  ONLY firewood or charcoal can legally be burned.  No construction materials, yard waste, vegetation or garbage.

I sure hope the person who polluted my neighborhood with toxic fumes over the weekend will see this.  I doubt it.