SCU, LNU, CZU: Fire season closes

Fire season ends Monday at 8 a.m

SANTA CLARA CO., Calif. -- Cal Fire's Santa Clara Unit announced this week that the 2008 fire season will end Monday at 8 a.m. in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and parts of San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
The end of the fire season is marked by the release of seasonal firefighters and the demobilization of Cal Fire air resources.
The end of fire season in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and the west sides of San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties will also coincide with Cal Fire's end of the 2008 fire season in its Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit, which includes Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Yolo, Solano and Colusa counties.
Fire season in Cal Fire's San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit ended Monday, officials said.

The end of fire season will also mark the end of the Bay Area burn suspension, though property owners interested in conducting controlled burns should check with their local fire agency and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to make sure they meet all requirements before open burning.

Open burning is generally prohibited in the Bay Area Air Quality Management District with the exception of seventeen (17) types of fires which are allowed by Regulation 5. Each allowable fire type may only be conducted during its permissive burn period. Most allowable fires are limited to Burn Days, as declared by the Air District. This map and the Open Burning Status table below indicate where burning is permitted for the day(s) shown (or call the 24-hour Burn Status Recording at (800) 792-0787 to hear this same information). For more information go to Open Burning.

· No burning will be allowed before 10:00 am.
· On permissive burn days, contact your local permit official before burning.

	Open Burning Notification Forms	Permissive Burn Periods

Open burning is generally prohibited in the Bay Area Air Quality Management District with the exception of seventeen (17) types of fires which are allowed by Regulation 5 Open Burning.

Each allowable fire type may only be conducted during its permissive burn period. The Air Pollution Control Officer may extend the burn periods for orchard pruning and crop replacement fires. In addition, most allowable fires are limited to Burn Days, as declared by the Air District.

Any proposed burn may also be restricted by local fire or other officials.

In addition, the fire types that require notification to the District prior to ignition and the public official who has the authority to approve a proposed burn are also presented in Permissive Burn Periods tables.

Prior notification to the District must be made by faxing a completed Open Burning Prior Notification Form to the Air District's office in San Francisco at (415) 928-0338 or by mailing the completed form to:

Compliance and Enforcement Division
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
939 Ellis Street
San Francisco, CA 94109

Note: mailed notifications must be postmarked at least five days prior to burning.

Cal Fire also advises that the end of fire season is a good time for residents to check home heating systems, clean chimneys and check smoke detectors.