When can you burn outdoors in Guadalupe County?

Read the exceptions, not just the summary

The order allows certain prescribed fires and specified outdoor burning related to public health and safety when authorized by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It also provides conditional exemptions for agricultural land clearing, qualifying outdoor welding or other hot work, and domestic waste generated and burned at a property used exclusively as a private residence. Its conditions matter: agricultural land clearing requires advance contact with, and written or verbal approval from, the county Fire Marshal. A burn barrel is not a blanket exemption.

For domestic waste, the order requires an above-ground enclosure with a metal mesh screen, an adult present throughout the burn, advance notice to the Fire Marshal or Sheriff’s Office dispatch, a water source within 10 feet and wetted surfaces around the enclosure. It prohibits burning the materials listed in the order, including untreated lumber, cardboard packaging, clothing, grass, leaves and branch trimmings. The county’s general burn-rules webpage describes some permitted fires more broadly; use the specific Sept. 2 order when deciding whether a fire fits an exception.

Check the conditions on the day

Any burning permitted or exempted under the order must occur from one hour after sunrise until one hour before sunset, with adequate preparations and equipment to control the fire. The order specifies predicted sustained winds of 6 to 23 mph and bars outdoor burning on a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning day for Guadalupe County. Its welding and hot-work exemption has separate safeguards, including fire-watch and extinguisher requirements; people doing that work should read those provisions in full.

The order says it expires Dec. 1, 2026, unless it is rescinded earlier by the county judge, judge pro tem or Commissioners Court under the conditions it states. For the next status check, use the Fire Marshal’s posted page. For questions about an exception or the required advance approval, the Fire Marshal’s Office lists 101 E. Court St., Suite 208, Seguin, and (830) 303-8856. Its page also lists dispatch at (830) 379-1224.