OROVILLE — Starting Sunday people living in the Cal Fire-Butte County Fire Department jurisdiction will need a permit to do any "dooryard" burning. Burn permits are available at no charge from all Cal Fire/Butte County fire stations and the U.S. Forest Service Plumas National Forest Office at 875 Mitchell Ave. in Oroville.
While the permits are easy to obtain, individuals wishing to burn must follow a series of regulations.

  •  Before burning in Butte County, you must call the Butte County Air Quality Management District at 332-9407 or toll free at 1-855-332-9407 or at www.bcaqmd.org to determine whether burning is allowed that day.
  •  Do not burn on windy days.
  •  Burn only clean, dry vegetative waste such as leaves, pine needles and yard clippings.
  •  Piles should be no larger than four feet in diameter.
  •  Provide a 10-foot, bare soil perimeter around the burn pile.
  •  All open fires should be located more than 25 feet from the nearest occupied dwelling on any adjacent parcel.
  •  Keep a water source handy such as a garden hose that is already turned on.
  •  Fire should never be left unattended.
  •  Property owners can be held civilly and criminally liable if a fire escapes their control and/or burns onto a neighboring property.
  •  Under the terms of the burn permit, burn hours are 6 to 11 a.m.
  •  Control burns should be out cold and wet before they are left unattended.
There are special conditions regarding residential open burning within the Chico sphere of influence.
Residential open burning is prohibited on lots less than 0.90 acres in size in the unincorporated areas of Butte County which are within the Chico Sphere of Influence.
*A countywide residential burn ban will go into effect July 1, 2011.