Open Burning Season Starts Today
It is Open Burning season again. Open burning (backyard burning) is the burning of debris in an outdoor fireplace, burn barrel, backyard incinerator, or piles of yard debris. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regulates the days that you can burn during the Open Burning season. Call the daily burn information line at 1-877-982-0011 after 9 AM each day to make sure it is a burn day. The recording will list the time that you can start burning and when fires should be out for the day.
Now is the time to finalize the cleanup of yard debris and reduce any vegetation that might be a fire hazard next summer. Remember to compost, chip, or haul yard debris to a recycling center before deciding to burn and keep any piles dry to reduce smoke. During the Open Burning season, you can burn yard debris, including wood, needles, or leaves from plants grown on your property.
You cannot burn tires, plastics, decomposable garbage (organic material, paper), petroleum and petroleum-treated materials, asphalt or asphalt materials, chemicals (pesticides, cleaners, detergents), or any material that produces black or dense smoke.
To learn more about Open Burning and Agricultural Burning visit our Burning Information page at this link.
If you chose to Burn your yard debris follow these safety tips:
Know the weather forecast. Never burn on very dry or windy days because it is easy for burning to spread out of control.
Burn only yard debris. State regulations prohibit the open burning of any material that creates dense smoke or noxious odors.
Keep your burn pile small or use a burn barrel. Clear at least a 15-foot radius around a barrel and at least a 25-foot radius around your burn pile, and make sure there are no tree branches or power lines above. Wet down the surrounding area before, during, and after the burn.
Always have water and fire tools on site. Keep a water-charged hose, a bucket of water, a shovel, and dirt or sand nearby to extinguish the fire.
Stay with the fire. Oregon law requires that you monitor a debris burn continually from start to finish until completely out.
Extinguish the fire. Drown the burn pile with water, stir the coals, and drown again. Repeat until the fire is completely out.
Recheck the fire. Go back and recheck old burn piles, as they can retain heat for several weeks and rekindle when the weather warms and the wind begins to blow.
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