Placer County, CA Fire Regulations: Backyard Fires (2026)

Residents of single- or two-family homes in unincorporated Placer County may burn only dry vegetative material grown on the property — dry brush, shrubs, grasses, leaves, pine needles, plants, trimmings, vines, and weeds. The Placer County APCD does not require its own burn permit for residential burning, but a local fire-agency (CAL FIRE / fire district) permit is usually required and residents must contact their fire agency before burning. Lawn clippings and cannabis are expressly prohibited, as are oleander and poison oak (whose smoke is hazardous), and general waste — garbage, plastics, rubber, treated wood, and construction/demolition debris — may never be burned. Burning is allowed only on permissive burn days; some holidays are designated no-burn days, and residents must check the daily burn-day status at 530-889-6868 (or 800-998-BURN). Pile material must be dry and reasonably free of dirt, with longer drying times for thicker material (about 15 days for under 3-inch material and up to 6 weeks for larger pieces), and material over 12 inches in diameter must be split before burning. Local jurisdictions set their own allowed hours.