Washington County, OR Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Washington County Code Section 8.56.050.A, part of the county's Air Quality Ordinance, bars anyone from causing or allowing open burning of yard debris on single- or multi-family property in unincorporated areas within the Metropolitan Service District Boundary, at any time of year, unless the property owner has obtained a hardship permit from the Department of Health and Human Services under Section 8.56.060. The ban targets 'open burning' as defined in 8.56.030.K, burn barrels, incinerators, and open outdoor fires where combustion air isn't controlled and smoke isn't vented through a stack.

Exemptions built into 8.56.050.B cover recreational fires, barbecue equipment, agricultural burning under ORS 468A.020, and fires set by public agencies for weed abatement or hazard elimination, but even those exempt fires remain subject to local fire-district and state fire marshal rules under 8.56.050.C. The department enforces the chapter complaint-driven: it investigates whether an alleged burn was exempt, issues a notice of noncompliance describing corrective action, and escalates to a citation under the county's uniform citation ordinance (Chapter 1.08) for repeat violations. The ordinance implements the county's Federal Clean Air Act compliance program and runs alongside the separate wood-heating restriction in Section 8.56.040 that curtails fireplaces and woodstoves on red-day air quality advisories.