Types of Burning

• Recreational fires, or fires for pleasure, cooking, or similar purposes are exempt from needing a permit. This includes ceremonial fires where a fire is appropriate and is not used for disposal purposes.
• The operation of barbecue equipment.
• Fires set or permitted by a public agency for official duties associated with weed abatement, prevention or elimination of a fire hazard, a hazard to public health or safety or the instruction of employees in the methods of firefighting.
• Fires set for instruction of employees of private industrial concerns in methods of firefighting or civil defense instruction.
• Fires set for the disposal of dry tumbleweed plants that have been broken off and rolled about by the wind.
• Fires set to burn waste associated with an agricultural operation. An agricultural operation is defined as an activity that involves the raising, harvesting, or selling of crops, livestock or poultry or their produce. The activity must either show a profit or intend to show a profit to qualify.
• Burning for agricultural disease or pest control when authorized by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
• Burning of carcasses of animals that have died or been ordered destroyed because of an animal disease emergency.
• Residential Open "Backyard" Burning.
  

Report illegal burning by calling your local DEQ office or LRAPA.​

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​Demolition open burning of any material resulting from or produced by the complete or partial destruction or tearing down of any man-made structure, or the clearing of any site for land improvement or cleanup, excluding yard debris (domestic waste) and agricultural waste.

“Construction waste" means any waste material generally used for, resulting from or produced by a building or construction project. Examples of construction waste are wood, lumber, paper, crating and packing materials processed for or used during construction, materials left after completion of construction, and materials collected during cleanup of a construction site.​​

Industrial open burning means the open burning of any waste material, including process waste, produced as the direct result of any manufacturing or industrial process.​

Commercial open burning means the open burning of any material except:

• Agricultural waste
• Construction waste
• Demolition waste
• Domestic waste
• Industrial waste
• Slash
  

Examples of commercial waste are waste material from offices, wholesale or retail yards and outlets, warehouses, restaurants, mobile home parks, domestic waste removed from the property of origin, and dwellings containing more than four family living units, such as apartments, condominiums, hotels, motels or dormitories.​​

​An agricultural operation means an activity on land currently used or intended to be used primarily for the purpose of obtaining a profit in money by raising, harvesting and selling crops or by raising and selling livestock or poultry, or the produce thereof, which activity is necessary to serve that purpose. Agricultural operation also means activities conducted by not-for-profit agricultural research organizations, which activities are necessary to serve that purpose. It does not include the construction and use of dwellings customarily provided in conjunction with the agricultural operation.

Agricultural open burning means the open burning of any agricultural waste, except for open field burning, propane flaming, and stack and pile burning in the Willamette Valley. Read more about Willamette Valley Field Burning.

Agricultural waste means any waste material generated or used by an agricultural operation, excluding prohibited materials.​

For additional information please see the Oregon Department of Agricultural page.​

Domestic or residential open burning means the open burning of any household waste material, which includes paper, cardboard, clothing, yard debris, or other material generated in or around a dwelling of four-or-fewer-family-living units, or on the real property appurtenant to the dwelling. Such waste materials generated in or around a dwelling of more than four family living units are commercial wastes. Once domestic waste is removed from the property of origin, it becomes commercial waste.

Yard debris means anything that was growing such as wood, needle or leaf materials from trees, shrubs or plants from the real property appurtenant to a dwelling of not more than four family living units so long as such debris remains on the property of origin. Once yard debris is removed from the property of origin, it becomes commercial waste.​

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​Recreational fires, or fires for pleasure, cooking, or similar purposes are exempt from needing a permit. This includes ceremonial fires where a fire is appropriate and is not used for disposal purposes. The operation of barbecue equipment is also considered part of recreational burning and a permit is not required. As with all burning Cities, counties, and local fire districts also have their own restrictions on open and recreational burning.

There may be a local city or county ordinance requiring a permit that goes beyond the minimum code standard set forth by the Oregon State Fire Marshal and the Oregon Fire Code which is allowable. Always check with your local fire department before burning.​

Slash means forest debris or woody vegetation to be burned that is related to the management of forest land used for growing and harvesting timber.​