Fall Backyard Burn Season

Friday October 1st is the official kick off for the fall backyard burn season. From October 1st to December 15th the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) allows residents to burn the yard debris from their property. Backyard burning is allowed in and around Forest Grove, however it's not a burning free for all and there are a number of rules that must be followed to avoid a visit from us or a letter in the mail from the DEQ.

First only burn on open burn days. Each day the DEQ tests the air quality in our area and based on this test they will let us know if burning is allowed that day or not. We update the Washington County Open Burning Hotline each morning with this information. You can hear our pre-recorded message by calling 503.992.3242 to see if you can burn that day. It is very important that you burn only on open days during the time limits allowed.

Second, be sure that you are only burning allowed materials. Backyard burning is for yard debris like limbs, clippings, and leaves. You cannot burn items like lumber, garbage, paper, plastics, or tires. Each year there are also questions from people that live in the rural area about agricultural (Ag) burning. Ag burning is for the removal of debris from a farming operation, just because a person may live in the country they are not considered Ag burning by default. For instance a filbert grower who burns the limbs from his orchard is considered to be ag burning but if the same farmer was to burn some hedges that he pulled out from around his home this would fall under the backyard burning requirements instead of those for Ag.

Third be fire safe and a courteous neighbor when you burn. Make sure your pile is dry before you light it off. Smoke complaints are one of the big reasons we get called by angry neighbors so a dry burn pile will help you burn cleaner without putting off a large amount of smoke. Locate your burn pile away from property lines and so that it is well clear of fences, buildings, trees, and anywhere else where you do not want the fire to spread. Constantly attend to your pile while it is burning and have firefighting equipment like a garden hose and hand tools close by to help control the fire. When you are done burning wet down the burn pile and the area around it with water so to be sure that the fire is completely out and will not flare up after you leave it.

We obviously encourage that you choose non burning methods such as composting or the curbside yard debris removal service instead of burning, but we understand that these options are not always good ones for every property owner. For more information check out the Oregon DEQ website about backyard burning by clicking on this link. To report an illegal burn or smoke related complaint please do not call our fire station, instead call 503.229.5393 and report it to the DEQ directly. If a burn pile gets out of hand always call 9-1-1 immediately.