Franklin County, WA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Franklin County, WA, also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance, set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Key Facts
- Zones
- Urban (Pasco, UGAs) and nonurban, § 8.28.010
- Nonurban burning
- Fee/permit-free for agricultural debris only
- Air-quality bar
- No burning during declared episode, RCW 70.94.715
- Land-clearing over 10 acres
- Permit plus $1 per acre fee
- First-offense penalty
- Written warning, § 8.28.040
- Repeat penalty
- Up to $500 civil fine by fourth offense
Summary
Unincorporated Franklin County splits into an urban zone (Pasco and urban growth areas) and a nonurban zone for open-burning purposes under § 8.28.010. Nonurban burning is fee-free and permit-free under § 8.28.020(B) only for agricultural burning of orchard prunings, fence-line debris, or wind-blown organics, and only when no air-quality episode is declared.
A.Urban Zone. The urban zone includes the city of Pasco and urban growth areas as defined in the Franklin County comprehensive plan.B.Nonurban Zone. The nonurban zone includes all unincorporated areas of Franklin County with a population of less than fifty thousand (50,000) not designated as urban growth areas under Chapter 36.70A RCW. ... B.Nonurban Zone. Burning in the nonurban zone is allowed without permit or payment of a fee subject to the following conditions:1.Such burning is incidental to commercial agricultural activities;2.Any local ordinances or burn regulations;3.The individual conducting the burn notifies the local fire department within the area in which the burning is to be conducted;4.Such burning does not occur during an air pollution quality episode or any stage of impaired air quality declared under RCW 70.94.715; and only the following are burned:a.Orchard prunings,b.Orchard debris along fence lines or irrigation or drainage ditches, orc.Organic debris blown by wind.
Full Breakdown
28 (Open Burning) divides the county into two burning zones. 70A RCW. 715, and only orchard prunings, orchard debris along fence lines or irrigation and drainage ditches, or wind-blown organic debris is burned. 020(A), subject to the same fire-department notice and air-quality conditions, but without the agricultural-only material restriction. 020(C). 030 separately allows burning tumbleweeds blown by the wind without permit or fee, again barred during a declared air-pollution episode. 40.
Violations & Fines
Franklin County Code § 8.28.040 makes any violation a civil infraction on an escalating five-year schedule: a written warning for a first offense, up to $75 for a second, up to $250 for a third, and up to $500 for a fourth or later offense, plus court costs each time. Each occasion a fire is ignited or used contrary to the chapter is a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I burn yard debris in unincorporated Franklin County?
Do I need a permit to burn brush from clearing land?
What's the penalty for an illegal burn in Franklin County?
Who enforces the open-burning rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Franklin County
How Franklin County compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Franklin County to another location·View the Washington fire regulations overview
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