Sometimes, but burning brush in Collin and Denton County is the exception. Both counties sit in the Dallas-Fort Worth ozone nonattainment area, where TCEQ allows burning land-clearing debris only when no practical alternative exists. Cities add their own permits or bans, Princeton prohibits land-clearing burns outright, and a county burn ban stops burning in unincorporated areas entirely.
So the answer depends on where the land is, what is being burned and the week you ask. This guide from Homestead Land Clearing explains the state rule, each city’s approach where it has been published, how county burn bans work, and the alternatives most clearing jobs use instead.
Is it illegal to burn brush here?
Not always illegal, but tightly limited. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lists Collin and Denton counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth ozone nonattainment area under both the 2008 and 2015 federal ozone standards. In a nonattainment county, TCEQ’s outdoor burning rule, 30 TAC 111.209, allows on-site burning of trees, brush, grass, leaves, branch trimmings and other plant growth for land clearing and right-of-way maintenance only when no practical alternative to burning exists. The material has to have grown on that property. No TCEQ notification is required, but every burn has to meet the general conditions in 111.219.
“No practical alternative” carries weight. Around Frisco, mulching, chipping and hauling are usually practical, which is why burning is rarely the plan for a residential or commercial clearing job.
The state conditions every burn must meet
Under 30 TAC 111.219, a permitted land-clearing burn must:
- Be outside city limits unless a local ordinance allows it
- Sit downwind of, or at least 300 feet from, off-site structures with people in them, unless they agree in writing
- Start no earlier than one hour after sunrise and be out no later than one hour before sunset on that day
- Be attended at all times
- Not happen when wind is forecast under 6 mph or over 23 mph, or during persistent low-level inversions
- Use flag persons if smoke drifts onto a road
- Burn only natural plant material: no treated wood, plastics, rubber or similar materials
Those conditions alone rule out burning on most small lots, because 300 feet from every neighboring occupied building is a long way in a suburb.
City rules, town by town
Inside city limits, the city’s fire code decides whether burning is possible at all. The table summarizes each city’s published rules for land-clearing debris.
| City | Published rule | Key conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Frisco | Permit from the fire code official, issued only to the landowner | 300 ft from any structure (25 ft only for piles 3 ft across and 2 ft high or smaller); trench burns in air curtain trenches |
| Celina | Permit, $100 per burn | Parcels of 2 acres or more only; 300 ft from any structure; no smoke onto roads |
| Prosper | Permit with a $150 refundable deposit per burn | Expires 15 days after issue; no burning in wind over 15 mph; written Fire Department approval to burn removed trees, stumps or foliage |
| Little Elm | Annual permit, $25 | Burn only on a Denton County burn day |
| Aubrey | Permit after a site inspection; residential free, commercial $2,000 | Valid on the day issued (commercial seven days); 300 ft from structures, or 50 ft with the neighbor’s notarized approval; wind 6 to 20 mph |
| Princeton | Not allowed | The City prohibits burning to clear land of trees, stumps, shrubbery or other vegetation |
| Lucas | No burn permits issued | Small piles only, 3 ft across and 2 ft high or less, natural branches from the property, 25 ft from the property line, no county burn ban |
| Fairview | Fire Marshal permit, tracts of 10 acres or more | Natural vegetation only; 300 ft from structures, 25 ft from property lines; no burning on ozone alert days, before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. |
Sources: each city’s fire department or code of ordinances. Lucas stopped issuing burn permits after learning Collin County is in a nonattainment area, according to Lucas Fire-Rescue. Oak Point allows burning clearing debris on the property where it grew without a permit, but only on county-approved days, after notifying the City, and never with imported brush. Rules change when cities adopt new fire codes, so confirm with the fire department before planning a burn.
Unincorporated Collin and Denton County
Outside city limits, the counties take different approaches.
The Collin County Fire Marshal states that no county office can give permission for outdoor burning. Only TCEQ’s exceptions apply, and the owner is responsible for meeting them. Illegal burning is reported to TCEQ’s regional office.
Denton County decides burn days each morning. The Fire Marshal makes the daily call, residents check it by phone or online, and owners must register for open burning before they burn. Brush, timber and yard trimmings are acceptable materials on an approved day.
How county burn bans work
A county burn ban is an order from the Commissioners Court under Texas Local Government Code 352.081. The court can prohibit or restrict outdoor burning in unincorporated areas when drought conditions exist or when it finds a public safety hazard that burning would worsen. On the county’s request, the Texas A&M Forest Service determines whether drought conditions exist, using the Keetch-Byram Drought Index or a similar measure, and tells the county when they end.
Each order can last no longer than 90 days after adoption, but the court can adopt a new order that starts when the old one expires, so a ban can run for months. Bans tend to arrive in dry late summers and lift after rain. Denton County has enforced bans as a Class C misdemeanor with fines up to $500.
Because status changes, this guide does not state whether a ban is in effect. Check the current order on the county website and the Texas A&M Forest Service burn ban map before any burn.
What not to burn, and why poison ivy matters
TCEQ’s rule allows only natural plant growth. Treated lumber, old fence posts with preservative, plastics, tires, wire-wrapped debris and construction waste are off limits, and they turn up inside overgrown brush more often than owners expect.
Poison ivy is a separate hazard. The CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health warns that smoke from burning poison ivy can cause lung irritation and advises against burning it. Fence lines and creek edges in North Texas are often tangled with it, so a brush pile that includes vines is a poor candidate for burning even where burning is legal.
The alternatives most jobs use
Burning sounds cheap until permits, distances, wind, burn bans and neighbors are counted. The practical alternatives:
- Mulch in place. A forestry mulcher leaves the material as a surface layer that protects bare soil. See forestry mulching.
- Chip. Chipped material can be spread or hauled more compactly. In Frisco, trees cut under a tree permit must be chipped and used on site or hauled off within 72 hours.
- Haul. Brush and limbs go to the City of Plano’s Custer Road yard-waste facility, which Frisco shares, at $22 per cubic yard with a $66 minimum. North Texas Municipal Water District lists $80 per ton at its transfer stations and $52 per ton at the 121 Regional Disposal Facility, each with a one-ton minimum.
The land clearing debris removal page covers each route, and the cost per acre guide shows how disposal fits a budget. For rural homes worried about dry brush, the post on fire breaks around rural homes covers defensible space.
Planning the debris before the clearing
Checking burn options is part of step two in Homestead Land Clearing’s process, alongside the tree permit, creek and floodplain limits and utility locates. The written scope then names where every part of the debris goes, before a price, so a burn ban in the middle of the job does not leave piles with nowhere to go. The work is done by licensed and insured contractors.
Contact Homestead Land Clearing with the address, or read the guide to clearing land in North Texas for the full process.