The following information was obtained from the Minnesota DNR website.

When do I need an open burning permit?

When the ground is not snow covered.
By definition, in Minnesota Statute 88.16 subd. 2: "Snow-covered" means that the ground has a continuous unbroken cover of snow, to a depth of three inches or more, surrounding the immediate area of the fire, sufficient to keep the fire from spreading.
When you have a fire in an approved burner and it is in use between 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Please note that while an open burning permit may not be required, if you live within a municipality that control open burning, local permits or regulations may apply. [Randolph-Hampton Fire District does require permits on all open burns that are not "campfire" or "recreational fires"]

When is a permit not needed?
For a "campfire"...
"Campfire" means a fire set for cooking, warming, or ceremonial purposes, which is not more than three feet in diameter by three feet high, and has had the ground five feet from the base of the fire cleared of all combustible material.

When the ground is "snow-covered"...
"Snow-covered" means that the ground has a continuous unbroken cover of snow, to a depth of three inches or more, surrounding the immediate area of the fire, sufficient to keep the fire from spreading. For a fire contained in a charcoal grill, camp stove, or other device designed for the purpose of cooking, or heating. For a fire in an approved burner, and there is no combustible material within five feet of the base of the burner, and it is in use between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Prior to 6:00 p.m., a permit is required to burn in a burner.

What can I burn with a permit or in an approved burner?
Vegetative material, such as: grass, leaves, brush and untreated lumber. What materials cannot be burned? Hazardous wastes Industrial solid waste Demolition debris of commercial or institutional structures. (A farm building is not a commercial structure.) Burning of any structure should be referred to a forest officer. Salvage operations Motor vehicles Oils Rubber Plastics Chemically-treated materials Other materials which produce excessive, or noxious smoke, such as, but not limited to: tires, railroad ties, chemically-treated lumber, composite board, sheet rock, wiring, paint, or paint filters. Garbage, defined as discarded material resulting from the handling, processing, storage, preparation, serving, or consumption of food.

How can I obtain a burning permit?
If you live in the Dakota County portion of the Randolph-Hampton Fire District contact one of the following Fire Wardens to obtain your permit:

  Jim Heiman    507 645-7562        

  Dick Podritz   507 664-3802    

  Joe Wagner   651 437-7505

If you live in the Goodhue County portion of the Randolph-Hampton Fire District you may apply on-line however we would prefer that you contact a Fire Warden.  Click on the link below to go to the Minnesota DNR website.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/fire/questions.html#getpermit