Outdoor burning rules in Sonoma County, CA — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Outdoor burning of any vegetative waste in unincorporated Sonoma County requires two permits: an air-quality burn permit from the local air-pollution control district (Northern Sonoma County APCD in northern parts of the county; Bay Area AQMD in southern parts), and - if the parcel is in the State Responsibility Area - a free CAL FIRE burn permit during declared fire season. Permits are typically suspended from late spring through the first significant rains and during any Red Flag warning. Only natural dry vegetation grown on the property may be burned; household trash, painted wood, and treated lumber are always prohibited.
Sonoma County Code Chapter 13 (Fire Safety Ordinance) adopts the California Fire Code Section 307 (open burning) and is enforced jointly with CAL FIRE in the State Responsibility Area (SRA) and with local fire-protection districts in the Local Responsibility Area (LRA). Two air-quality regimes apply: in northern Sonoma County (Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Geyserville and the rest of the Russian River north of Windsor), the Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District (NoSoCoAir, (707) 433-5911) issues burn permits and announces daily 'burn'/'no-burn' days; in southern Sonoma County (Petaluma, Sonoma Valley, Santa Rosa area), the Bay Area Air Quality Management District ((415) 749-4900) administers Regulation 5 burn rules. In the SRA, CAL FIRE additionally requires a free burn permit (burnpermit.fire.ca.gov) any time the State has declared fire season open - typically May 1 through the first soaking rains in November or December. Even with permits, burning is suspended whenever fire weather is elevated; the Permit Sonoma Fire Marshal and CAL FIRE post daily burn-day status. Allowed material is limited to dry natural vegetation (leaves, pine needles, prunings) generated on the property; burning of household trash, leaves contaminated with plastic, painted or treated lumber, tires, rubber, oil, construction debris, or any material producing dense smoke is prohibited statewide under California Health & Safety Code Section 41700 and air-district rules. Burn piles may not exceed 4 feet by 4 feet, must be at least 10 feet from any combustible material with a cleared area around them, must be attended at all times by a responsible adult with shovel and water, and must be reported to REDCOM dispatch at (707) 565-1700 on the day of the burn.
Burning without required permits, on a 'no-burn' day, or of prohibited materials violates Sonoma County Code Chapter 13, the air-district's regulations, and California Health & Safety Code Section 41700 (prohibition on nuisance smoke). Penalties include cease-and-desist orders, air-district civil fines starting at several hundred dollars and rising to thousands for repeat or commercial violations, misdemeanor citation, recovery of fire-suppression costs under H&S Code Section 13009 if the fire escapes, and possible criminal prosecution under Penal Code Section 452 (reckless burning) when the fire is set during a Red Flag warning or burn suspension.
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