Debris burning is allowed, Fire Season has Ended!

Affective 10/21/2024

Remember that burning garbarge is Illegal, Fires must be attended.

Follow the below guidelines to keep your burning legal

Residential open burning is the burning of leaves, tree branches, yard trimmings, logs, and stumps that originate from your residence. If you choose to burn, you are responsible for any fire, smoke or odors created from open burning and for any damage that results from your fire.

Burning the following materials is illegal any time, anywhere in Oregon:

• Asbestos
• Asphalt or industrial waste
• Automotive parts (including frames)
• Dead animals
• Plastic and rubber products
• Tires
• Waste oil, petroleum treated and related materials
• Wet garbage and food waste
• Any material creating dense smoke or noxious odors

Choose Alternatives to Open Burning

• Recycle paper products when possible
• Dispose of waste at a landfill
• Compost yard debris and kitchen scraps
• Reuse old lumber

• Buy a chipper and use chips for mulch and compost.
• Work with neighbors to organize a neighborhood cleanup day.
• Take hazardous materials, including oil-based paints, solvents, garden chemicals and car fluids to a hazardous waste collection site. Burning these materials is illegal and extremely dangerous.
• A fire department response to an illegal burn of any type will likely result in a bill or fine!

Tips for when you must burn

Use good burning practices to promote efficient burning and prevent excessive smoke:

• Assure all combustible material is dried to the extent practicable. This includes covering the combustible material when practicable to protect it from moisture including precipitation or dew.
• Loosely stack or windrow the combustible material to eliminate dirt, rocks or other noncombustible material and to promote an adequate air supply to the burning pile.
• Periodically restack or feed the burning pile to ensure combustion is robust and completed efficiently.

What's Blowing in the Wind?

Smoke from outdoor burning clogs our air with a mixture of fine particles and other toxic pollutants that can lodge deep in our lungs when we breathe. It can make breathing difficult and cause serious health problems for many of us.

Be a Good Neighbor

It is never legal to impact your neighbors with smoke, ash or odors. Always consider the time of day, proximity to others, type of material, wind direction and other weather conditions such as air stagnation.

Not the Same Ol' Trash

Burning household waste is a serious threat to public health and the environment. Toxic chemicals, including dioxins, are produced when household waste is burned. One household burn barrel emits more dioxin than a municipal waste incinerator serving thousands of homes. Burning of debris can cause another problem ... Forest Fires.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Many items that are burned in a trash pile or burn barrel can often be recycled. Newspapers, glass, cardboard and many plastics can be recycled. Grass clippings and leaves are ideal to add to a compost pile. Your old attic junk could be given away for someone else to reuse. Check in the back of your local telephone directory for recycling information and sites in your area.

It all adds up to cleaner air!