Albany County lifts fire restrictions, warns conditions can change quickly
Burn piles and fireworks are back on the table in unincorporated Albany County, but officials said the pause can end fast if wind and dryness return.
A burn pile and a box of fireworks can come back out in unincorporated Albany County, but only for as long as weather and fuel conditions stay manageable. County officials said on May 22 that fire restrictions were temporarily lifted, allowing open burning and fireworks again, while warning that restrictions can be reimposed at any time if conditions worsen.
The county’s fire restriction resolution, No. 2026-001, began March 25 and was scheduled to remain in effect through Nov. 1 unless the County Fire Warden temporarily lifted or restored it. The original order covered the unincorporated area of Albany County, Wyoming, and barred open fires and fireworks after officials said a potentially severe to extreme fire situation existed because of heavy fuel loads and dry conditions that could overwhelm local firefighting capability.
That caution still matters. Albany County said residents should contact Laramie Dispatch at 307-721-2526 before conducting any burning operation, and the county’s open-burning guidance says to notify dispatch or another local area center before lighting a fire. The county’s fire-warden system exists to save lives and protect property through prevention, preparedness, education and response, which is why the lift is being treated as a managed adjustment rather than a declaration that fire season is over.
Violations of the restriction could carry state-law penalties, including jail time and fines. The county has used temporary fire restrictions before, including in 2024 and 2025, and Wyoming’s fire-restriction system gives county fire wardens the authority to recommend, lift or restore restrictions under state rules.
For residents, the practical change is immediate: yard cleanup burns and some fireworks are allowed again for now. The risk is also immediate, because the same wind and dryness that pushed Albany County into restrictions in March can return quickly. County officials said conditions will be evaluated constantly, and the ban can snap back into place if hot, dry or windy weather raises the danger again.
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