Burning Restrictions

County Wide Yearly Burn Ban

• The County Burn Ban is effective July 1 through October 1 of each year, unless conditions warrant an earlier closure, or an extension. 
• The Burn Ban generally applies to all outdoor burning except recreational cooking fires. 
• Note that there are year-round burning restrictions within the Urban Growth Areas of the county. See the interactive "Zoning" map to view the UGA areas. 

Why do we control outdoor burning?

• People have the right to enjoy the use of their property without the nuisance of smoke or ash fall-out from a neighbor’s fire.  
• Public compliance with burn regulations decreases the fire districts’ responses to nuisance smoke and fire complaints.  
• Outdoor fires can escape and cause residential home and property damage. 
• The fire district/department permit process educates our citizens on safe, clean and considerate burning.

Why is the State regulating outdoor burning on my property?

• When our state legislators enacted the Washington Clean Air Act in 1991, they made a fundamental choice:  Your neighbors’ right to breathe clean air is more important than allowing you to have free disposal of vegetation by burning it.  
• In Clallam County there are a large number of homes with occupants who have chronic respiratory disease.  These people are at high risk for suffering adverse health effects, including premature death, when their neighbors burn, and they have to breathe the smoke from that burning.  Microscopic particles can lodge deep in the lungs, damaging delicate air sacs, aggravating respiratory and cardiovascular illness, and decreasing lung function.

Where is Burning NOT Allowed?

State law prohibits burning of any kind (except for recreational fires) within the city limits of Forks, Port Angeles, Sequim and within the Urban Growth Areas of Carlsborg, Clallam Bay/Sekiu, Forks, Joyce, Port Angeles and Sequim.

What about campfires, cooking or ceremonial fires?  

• Recreational fires are permitted in campgrounds and on private property for cooking, pleasure and     ceremonial purposes.  
• Only seasoned firewood or charcoal should be used.  Fires for debris disposal are not considered to be recreational fires.         
• Recreational fires should not be any larger than 3 feet by 3 feet by 2 feet high.

Prohibited Burning

It is illegal to burn garbage, dead animals, asphalt, petroleum products, plastics, paper, cardboard, treated wood, construction and demolition debris, metal, and other substances that normally release toxic emissions, dense smoke, or obnoxious odors when burned.  State law prohibits burning anything except natural vegetation.  Use of burn barrels is also illegal.   

Alternatives to Burning

Composting, chipping, and recycling are viable alternatives to outdoor burning that create resources, instead of air pollution and a solid waste problem.

Additional Information About Burning Restrictions in Clallam County

• Minimize the fire hazard from vegetation around your home with a "Defensible Space". Recognize when a neighboring lot is a true fire hazard.

Reporting a Burning Violation

To report burning violations or nuisance fires, call 911.  The Dispatch Center will log your complaint and refer it to the appropriate fire agency for response.  The fire district or department will visit the site to determine if a violation of state law has occurred, and they will take the appropriate corrective actions.  This may include putting the fire out and referring the violation to the Olympic Region Clear Air Agency for issuance of a fine up to nearly $15,000.

Local Resorces

Call your local fire department or the Department of Natural Resources to obtain information on burning     permits, burning regulations and requirements, or burning restrictions in your area.  

Other Resources

• Olympic Region Clean Air Agency
• Washington Department of Natural Resources