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Burn Ban

Burn Ban currently in effect:

  • Countywide burn ban runs July 15 – Sept. 30

     

    A stage 1 burn ban will be in effect throughout Pierce County beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday, July 15. It is scheduled to expire on Sept. 30.

    The ban is declared by the Pierce County Fire Prevention Bureau in cooperation with the Pierce County Fire Chiefs' Association and the Department of Natural Resources, and in conjunction with the fire marshals in King, Kitsap and Mason counties. The ban is prompted by forecasts calling for continued dry weather.

    The burn ban applies to all outdoor burning except for small recreational fires in established fire pits at approved camp grounds or private property with the owner's permission. The use of gas and propane self-contained stoves and barbeques will continue to be allowed under the ban.

    Note: Effective this year, a countywide burn ban will be implemented annually from July 15 through Sept. 30. This is being done in order to maintain consistency and increase awareness of fire safety during the hot, dry weather in the summer months. The defined dates do not preclude declaration of an earlier or longer ban, based on weather conditions for each year.

    Persons with approved DNR burn permits may call 1-800-323-BURN for information related totheir permits.

     

    MEDIA CONTACTS:

    Wayne Wienholz, County Fire Marshal

    253-798-7179

    Sheri Badger, Department of Emergency Management

    253-798-2204

     

  • As of July 1, 2008 Land Clearing Permits are no longer available in Pierce County.

  • Permits are required for all outdoor burning - call 253-851-3111 for a verbal residential fire permit.

Information Sources

Puget Sound Clean Air                     1-800-552-3565   

www.pscleanair.org

Pierce County Fire District 5         253-851-0089

"Burn Permits required for all Outdoor Burning"

All outdoor burning requires a permit. This includes residential, outdoor, garden waste burning as well as land clearing activities.

Outdoor burning regulations are administered by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and follow the state Clean Air Act or Chapter 173-425 WAC. The fire district does not set these regulations, but must enforce them. Our responsibilities begin with a permitting process for all outdoor burning.

Two types of burn permits are issued by the local fire department.

  1. Residential Burning – requires a verbal permit (call 851-3111) to notify the fire department that you are burning and to receive verbal confirmation and outdoor burning regulations.
  2. Definition of Recreational Fire:  Cooking fires, campfires, and bonfires using charcoal or firewood that occur in designated areas or on private property for cooking, pleasure, or ceremonial purposes.  Fires used for debris disposal purposes are not considered recreational fires.

In either case, no permit will be issued within the "no-burn" zones. The no-burn zones follow the boundaries described as the Urban Growth Area, which encompasses the City of Gig Harbor, and adjacent areas. You can call 851-3111 to verify if you are in a no-burning zone.

Residential Burning means the outdoor burning of leaves, clippings, pruning and other yard and gardening refuse originating on lands immediately adjacent and in close proximity to the human dwelling and burned on such lands by the property owner or his or her designee.

Residential Burning Permit Rules

  1. Call 851-3111 for verbal permit, rules and air quality. It is recommended that you call during the workweek if you plan to burn during weekend hours. If you reach a recording during the evening or weekends, leave a message that contains your name, the address of the residential burn and a telephone number where we can reach you.
  2. A fire may not be ignited and must be extinguished if an air pollution episode, impaired air quality condition, or fire danger burn ban, that applies to the burning, is declared for the area. (You can call 851-0089 for updates on bans.)
  3. The fire must not include garbage, dead animals, asphalt, petroleum products, paints, rubber products, plastics, paper (other than what is necessary to start a fire), cardboard, treated wood, construction/demolition debris, metal, or any substance (other than natural vegetation) that normally releases toxic emissions, dense smoke, or obnoxious odors when burned.
  4. The fire must not include materials hauled from another property.
  5. A person capable of extinguishing the fire must attend it at all times and the fire must be extinguished before leaving it unattended.
  6. If any emission from the fire is detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of any person, if it causes damage to property or business, or if it causes a nuisance the fire must be extinguished immediately.
  7. No fires are to be set within fifty (50) feet of any structure, (this includes fences).
  8. Burn piles must not be larger than four (4) feet by four (4) feet wide and no more than three feet in height.
  9. Only one pile at a time may be burned, and each pile must be extinguished before lighting another pile.
  10. If an outdoor container is used for burning, it must be constructed of concrete or masonry with a completely enclosed combustion chamber and equipped with a permanently attached spark arrester constructed of iron, heavy wire mesh, or other noncombustible material with openings not larger than one-half inch. (Burn barrels are not permitted.)

Questions or complaints regarding outdoor burning should be addressed to Puget Sound Clean Air Agency at 1-800-552-3565 or you can research no-burn areas on their web site, www.pscleanair.org. Immediate health concerns or dangerous burning issues should be reported to the local fire department. Gig Harbor Peninsula (Pierce County Fire District 5) – 851-3111 and Key Peninsula (Pierce County Fire District 16) – 884-2222