RESIDENTIAL DEBRIS BURNING

During certain times of the year, not in declared fire season, residential burning of landscape debris is allowed. Always check with the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to make sure it is a permissible burn day prior to burning. 

GET YOUR ONLINE BURN PERMIT:

https://burnpermit.fire.ca.gov/

Burn permits are now issued ONLINE and FREE of charge! The permit allows for the burning of dry vegetation (NOT household trash or garbage) that originates on the landowners property.  Violations of any burning permit terms are a violation of state law (Public Resource Codes 4421, 4422, 4423 and 4425)

BURN GUIDELINES

• Make sure your pile(s) are no larger than four feet by four feet in diameter. See below for permits for larger piles or other-than-residential permits.
• Scrape a ten foot wide ring around each debris pile down to bare dirt. 
• Have a shovel and water supply (charged hose) close by to use in the event your fire escapes from the pile.
• Make sure an adult is in attendance until the pile is completely extinguished.
• No burning shall be undertaken unless weather conditions (particularly wind) are such that burning can be considered safe.
• You may only burn on “Permissive Burn Days” so make sure to check the burn day status with the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District immediately prior to lighting your pile(s). Burn day information is always available and updated daily on the:
• AQMD Website
• AQMD Facebook
• AQMD Twitter
• Or by telephone: (530) 621-5897 or (866) 621-5897

ALTERNATIVES TO BURNING

Some alternatives to burning include utilizing green waste disposal, free chipping service, community clean up days, composting, or commercial vegetation management businesses to reduce burning your yard waste and creating the associated smoke impacts. See alternatives HERE. 

OTHER BURN PERMITS

Special permits from the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District are required for private parties for the following purposes:

• Agricultural Burning​ - Using fire in agricultural operations (growing crops, raising fowl or animals), wildlife and game habitat improvement, disease and pest prevention.
• Forestry Management Burning - Using fire to remove forest debris associated with timber operations, silvicultural or forest protection.
• Land Development - Using fire to clear property for commercial or residential development.
• Residential Burning - For pile sizes over 4 foot diameter.

These permits can be completed online by visiting the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District website. 

CAMPFIRE PERMIT

Campfire Permits are required for open fires, such as campfire, barbecues and portable stoves on federally controlled lands and private lands that are the property of another person.

GET YOUR ONLINE CAMPFIRE PERMIT HERE:

https://www.readyforwildfire.org/permits/campfire-permit/

• Campfire Permits for the purposes of cooking and warming are not required on your own property. 
• Within the El Dorado National Forest (ENF), additional fire restrictions may be in place. Before visiting ENF, check current conditions and fire restrictions HERE. 
• In the City of Placerville open campfires are not permitted during fire season. Fires during this time are only allowed in a fireplace, permanent barbecue, portable barbecue, outdoor fireplace, incinerator or grill located on a property that the individual has the legal authority to occupy. 

City of Placerville open fires/burning ordinance:

PRESCRIBED BURNING

Why Prescribed Fire?

Much of the Sierra Nevada is a fire dependent ecosystem which historically burned frequently at low intensity, but decades of fire suppression have not allowed fire to play its needed role in this ecosystem. From time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have used fire on the landscape to benefit the ecosystem. The suppression of all fire since colonization, from wildfire to cultural burning, has resulted in forests and woodlands with historically high density of trees, vegetation, and biomass. Prescribed fire is a critical tool for managing working rangelands and forests in the Sierra Nevada.

Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs)

Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs) offer residents an opportunity to take back control by using a tool that has long served the land. The regular application of low-intensity, low-severity fire makes massively devastating wildfires far less likely to occur. 

The El Dorado Amador Prescribed Burn Association (EAPBA) was formed in late 2021 through the University of California Cooperative Extension to serve El Dorado and Amador counties. The goal of the EAPBA is to provide the community with training, equipment, and support to empower landowners to conduct intentional burns on their properties. If you are interested in information on how you can participate in this association please visit  https://forests.berkeley.edu/el-dorado-amador-prescribed-burn-association