Burn Day

• YES – Burning is allowed. Restrictions may apply based on location (within city limits or on property over 5 acres may require a permit) large pile burning may be restricted, call to confirm for your area.
• YES* – Burning is only allowed with permits, or in the evenings. Call to confirm for your area.
• NO – This means burning is prohibited.
• CALL – The official decision was not available at the time the check was made.

Call one of the numbers below to see if the hotline has been updated.

To be certain whether burning is permitted in your area, call the appropriate phone number:

• Calaveras County residents – (209) 754-6600
• Tuolumne County residents – (209) 533-5598
• Mariposa County residents – (209) 966-1200
• Amador County Burn Day hot line – (209) 223-6246

State law prohibits the use of burn barrels. Some landowners and businesses are required to have a burn permit. Burning within the Sonora city limits requires a permit. Violating the rules is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine, jail or both.

Online Burn Permits

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Tuolumne –Calaveras Unit offer burn permits online at: https://burnpermit.fire.ca.gov/ for residential door yard burn permits. Applicants will watch a three-minute educational video, fill out an online application and print the permit. Once signed, the permit will be valid.  Property owners currently in possession of a previously issued permit are encouraged to check the expiration date.

Property owners requiring an alternate means of obtaining a permit are asked to call the headquarters office during normal business hours (Monday to Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.) at 209-754-3831 for assistance.

Burn Pile Requirements:
No burning shall be undertaken when wind speeds or gusts in excess of 5 mph are present or forecast
The maximum pile size is 4 feet in diameter
Clear all flammable material within 10 feet of the outer edge of the burn pile
An adult must remain in attendance with a shovel until the fire is dead out
Keep a five-gallon water supply or charged hose at the burning site
Burn vegetation debris only

During Extreme Fire Danger Conditions 

• Don’t mow or trim dry grass on windy days
• Never pull your vehicle over in dry grass
• Target shoot only in approved areas, use lead ammunition only, and never at metal
• Check and obey burn bans
• Ensure campfires are allowed, and if so, be sure to extinguish them completely
• Report any suspicious activities to prevent arson, see something – say something

Burn permits are required each Fire Season by Cal Fire.

Permits are available during business hours Monday through Friday at the following locations:

• Twain Harte FFS, 22978 Meadow Drive, Twain Harte
• Standard FFS, 18464 Striker Court, Sonora
• Station 51, 19500 Hillsdale Drive, Mono Village, Sonora
• Green Springs FFS, 11600 Jamestown Road, Jamestown
• Groveland FFS, 11700 Merrell Rd, Groveland
• Groveland CSD, 18930 Highway 120, Groveland

• CAL FIRE Hq. 785 Mountain Ranch Road, San Andreas (closed from noon
  to 1 p.m.)
• Ebbetts Pass FPD, 1037 Blagen Road, Arnold
• Ebbetts Pass FPD Station 3, 40 Canyon View Drive, Hathaway Pines
• West Point FFS, 22670 Highway 26, West Point

• Blanchard FFS, 2990 Highway 132, La Grange
• Stanislaus Consolidated Station # 24, 321 E Street, Waterford
• Stanislaus Consolidated Station # 28, 325 East G Street, Oakdale
• Stanislaus Consolidated Station # 29, 1700 Main Street, Knights Ferry
• Stanislaus Consolidated Station # 30, 13200 Valley Home Road, Oakdale

Permit terms limit burn pile size to a maximum of 4 feet by 4 feet in diameter with 10 feet around the outer edge of the debris pile free and clear of all flammable material and vegetation.

RULE 303 – NO-BURN DAY
303.1
Prohibition
No person shall knowingly permit open outdoor fires on days when such burning is prohibited by ARB, the APCO, or the fire agency with appropriate jurisdiction.

303.2
Exception
The APCO may issue a permit to authorize the use of open outdoor fires on No-Burn Days, when denial of such a permit would threaten imminent and substantial economic loss.

RULE 303 – BURN OR NO-BURN DAY
303.1
Prohibition.
No person required to comply with this Rule shall knowingly permit open outdoor fires on days when such burning is prohibited by ARB, the APCO, or the fire agency with appropriate jurisdiction.(Section 41854)

303.2.
Permissive Burn or No-Burn Days.
A notice as to whether the following day is a permissive-burn day, or no-burn day, or whether the decision will be announced the following day, shall be provided by the ARB by 3:00 p.m. daily for each of the air basins. If the decision is made by the following day it shall be announced by 7:45 a.m. Such notices shall be based on the Meteorological Criteria for Regulating Agricultural Burning, Article 3, Sections 80180 through 80320 of these Agricultural Burning Guidelines.

Agricultural burning is prohibited on no-burn days, except as specified in Section 80102, subdivisions (d) and (e), and as may be permitted by a provision in an implementation plan adopted pursuant to Section 80150(c)(5).

Upon request from a permittee through a designated agency, seven days in advance of a specific range improvement burn, forest management burn, or wildland vegetation management burn, at any elevation below 6,000 ft. (msl), a permissive-burn or no-burn notice will be issued by the ARB up to 48 hours prior to the date scheduled for the burn. Without further request, a daily notice will continue to be issued until a permissive-burn notice is issued.

Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 80110, the ARB may cancel permissive-burn notices that have been issued more than 24 hours in advance if the cancellation is necessary to maintain suitable air quality.

A permissive-burn or no-burn advisory outlook will be available up to 72 hours in advance of burns specified in subdivision (c) of Section 80110.

303.3
Exception
The APCO may issue a special permit to authorize the use of open outdoor fires on No-Burn Days, when denial of such a permit would threaten imminent and substantial economic loss. In authorizing such burning a District shall limit the amount of acreage which can be burned in any one day and only authorize burning downwind of metropolitan areas forecasted by the Air Resources Board to achieve the ambient standards. (Section 41862).