BURNING REGULATIONS AND INFORMATION

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Different Types of Burn Bans

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Fire Safety Burn Ban - The Snohomish County Fire Marshal is responsible for all fire

safety burn bans in unincorporated Snohomish County. These are usually issued in

response to hot and/or dry conditions.

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Air Quality Burn Ban - The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) issues air quality

burn bans in response to poor air quality. Air quality burn bans are usually issued

during colder fall and winter months due to calm wind conditions. They can be issued

outside of the Snohomish County fire safety burn bans. For more information please

see the PSCAA burn ban page.

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DNR Burn Ban - The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) uses burn restrictions as a tool to reduce human-caused wildfires during extremely hot and dry weather conditions. When a burn restriction is in place, it prohibits outdoor fires on all state, county, city, and private land under DNR fire protection, including all state forests, DNR-managed forestlands and DNR campgrounds. For more information on DNR burn bans, visit the DNR Burn Restrictions website. On this website, you can track

daily burn restrictions in each Washington county.

 

Call Before You Burn

Prior to any burning you we suggest you contact our Burning Information Line at 425-388-3508 to verify that there are no Burn Bans or Burning Limitations that may have been placed due to high fire danger or air quality conditions. For additional air quality information you can contact Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

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Residential Burning

Residential burning, a burn pile no larger than 4 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet, requires a permit under our burn permit ordinance (PDF). Residential burning means the outdoor burning of leaves, clippings, prunings, and other yard and gardening refuse originating on lands immediately adjacent and in close proximity to a human dwelling and burned on such lands by the property owner or his or her designee.

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Recreational Fires

Recreational fires, no larger than 3 feet by 3 feet by 2 feet in size, do not require a permit. By definition recreational fires are cooking fires, and  campfires 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.

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Burn Permits

Burn Permits are required and issued by the Office of the Snohomish County Fire Marshal and participating local fire districts for residential burning. Permits will be issued for locations outside the Urban Growth Areas (UGA) that are outside of the established no-burn zones (PDF) and within fire protection districts of unincorporated Snohomish County.

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Land Clearing Burning Prohibited

Since 2008, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has maintained a permanent ban on land clearing burning in Snohomish, Kitsap, King, and Pierce counties in accordance with WAC 173-425-040(5). Land clearing burning applied to fires to clear land for development, such as building a new structure or subdivision.

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Wildfires

As more people move to remote areas wildfires (PDF) have become increasingly common as that creates an environment where fire can move readily between structures and vegetation. Emergency response can be difficult in these isolated and undeveloped areas. There is no guarantee that firefighters will be able to save your home if a wildfire occurs so it is imperative that property owners in the Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI)

understand the risks and prepare appropriately. For more information contact your local fire department.

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