10/17/2026
Residents urged to refrain from burning hurricane debris
While there are no burn bans in place within the Hurricane Isaias impact area, residents are being asked to NOT BURN yard debris at this time for a number of reasons:
👮IT’S ILLEGAL: Burning of leaves, limbs and other yard trash is always prohibited within the City of Pensacola - Government, City of Gulf Breeze, City of Milton Florida and the City of Niceville regardless of emergency status.
📏DOESN’T MEET SETBACKS: Much of the impacted area is high density residential and cannot meet the required setbacks if not already prohibited by local ordinances. Those setbacks are that the pile must be less than 8 feet in diameter, 25 feet away from your home and the woodline or other combustible structure such as a fence or shed, 50 feet away from a paved public road and 150 feet from the nearest occupied building.
🚫NO AUTHORIZATIONS: The Florida Forest Service Blackwater Forestry Center is not authorizing acreage or large pile burns at this time.
🕰️NOT THE RIGHT TIME: Even if you were to meet all the requirements needed for small burn piles, many of our neighbors are either without power or working outside to clean up their homes and yards and the smoke is an unnecessary nuisance. Fresh, “green” wood creates very dense smoke and does not burn well and will only make a bad situation worse.
🍃WEATHER CONCERNS: High winds are forecast through the weekend and could make burning safely a challenge.
Florida Forest Service firefighters and other personnel are working alongside our emergency partners to help return our area to normal and this is not the time to add to the workload of firefighters and first responders or the stress of your neighbors.
Please place all vegetative debris at the roadside and utilize the county-contracted pickup services that are available.
Santa Rosa County Emergency Management
Escambia County
Escambia County Fire Rescue
