Federal · Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

18 U.S.C. § 1855: Timber set afire

Felony

What this law says, in plain English

Federal law prohibits willfully setting fire to timber, brush, grass, or other flammable material on U.S. public lands, Indian reservations, or trust allotments without permission. Violation is punishable by fine and/or imprisonment up to five years.

Read the full statutory text

Whoever, willfully and without authority, sets on fire any timber, underbrush, or grass or other inflammable material upon the public domain or upon any lands owned or leased by or under the partial, concurrent, or exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, or under contract for purchase or for the acquisition of which condemnation proceedings have been instituted, or upon any Indian reservation or lands belonging to or occupied by any tribe or group of Indians under authority of the United States, or upon any Indian allotment while the title to the same shall be held in trust by the Government, or while the same shall remain inalienable by the allottee without the consent of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. This section shall not apply in the case of a fire set by an allottee in the reasonable exercise of his proprietary rights in the allotment.

Verify at the official source: Federal legislative text

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.