Outdoor burning season is ending

Lane County’s off-again, on-again backyard burning season is set to shut down soon. The program, which allows mainly rural residents to dispose of clean wood and yard debris is allowed on approved burn days during the burning season, which typically runs from October 1st through June 15th.

Extremely dry conditions created high fire danger throughout the county back in May, making it unsafe to burn. The dry conditions, coupled with strong winds, caused number of fires go out of control, according to Sally Markos spokesperson for the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency. At the request of the Lane Fire Defense Board, outdoor burning was prohibited in all areas of Lane County except the coast on May 6th.

Three weeks later weather conditions changed. Citing the recent change in weather, the Lane Fire Defense Board and State Department of Forestry have reconsidered their decision to close the backyard/open burning season on May 24th. Officials said rainfall totals had been sufficient to saturate vegetation and dry areas, making it safe to burn.

“The backyard/open burning season will continue through June 15th, however, there may still be days when weather conditions will not allow burning,” said Sally Markos in announcing the ban had been lifted.

People face a penalty for burning on days when burning is not allowed. Residents should check with their local fire district and call LRAPA’s burning hotline at 541-726-3976 to make sure burning is allowed. The LRAPA website, ww.lrapa.org, also displays the daily advisories. A first offense violation of LRAPA’s open burning rules may result in a $500 fine. Repeat offenders face even higher penalties.

Despite this year’s ban on burning, LRAPA’s rules do not allow the season to be extended past June 15th.

For more information go to Oregon Department of Environmental Quality