Benton County, WA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

94 and the Benton Clean Air Agency. The Fire Marshal sets a weekly Fire Danger Classification (low, moderate, high, very high or extreme) each Wednesday through Tuesday, based on the Energy Release Component from Fire Protection District No. 1 and the short-range weather forecast, and can raise but not lower that classification mid-week if conditions worsen. 038(a), burning is prohibited outright when the classification hits High, Very High or Extreme, when wind exceeds 20 mph, during any Red Flag Warning issued by the Pendleton, Oregon National Weather Service office, or after the Fire Marshal notifies the county that a burn ban is in effect because firefighting resources have been deployed elsewhere.

Agricultural burning gets a narrower ban, triggered only at the Extreme classification, wind over 20 mph, a Red Flag Warning, or a resource-deployment notice, and a farmer can still burn under an Agricultural Burn Exemption permit issued jointly by the Fire Marshal and the local fire district chief. Between September 1 and November 1 each year, otherwise-prohibited outdoor burning can proceed with the written permission of at least four fire chiefs. 039 require the Fire Marshal to notify every fire protection district, the Benton Clean Air Agency, Benton County Emergency Management, at least two television stations, one print outlet and one radio station in writing.