Hillsboro, OR Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Hillsboro, OR, 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
- Yard debris burning
- Banned year-round on single/multifamily property
- Recreational fire limit
- 3 ft diameter, 2 ft height max
- Red day advisory
- PM2.5 forecast 35 µg/m3 for 24 hours
- Heating season advisories
- Issued November 1 through March 1
- Penalty
- $500 fine, separate offense each day
Summary
Hillsboro bans open burning of yard debris on any single or multifamily property inside city limits, at any time of year, under Hillsboro Municipal Code § 6.40.040(A). Recreational fires, barbecue equipment and certain public-agency fires for weed abatement or firefighter training stay exempt under state OAR rules, and even exempt fires still answer to the Fire Department and State Fire Marshal.
6.40.040. - Residential Open Burning of Yard Debris. A. No person shall at any time of the year cause or allow to be initiated any open burning of yard debris on single or multifamily property located within City limits. B. In accordance with Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 340 Division 264, this prohibition does not apply to: 1. Recreational fires; 2. Barbecue equipment used in connection with any residence; 3. Fires set or permitted by any public agency when such fire is set or permitted in the performance of its official duty for the purpose of weed abatement, prevention or elimination of a fire hazard, or a hazard to public health or safety, or for instruction of employees in the methods of firefighting, which in the opinion of the public agency is necessary. C. Open burning fires otherwise exempt from the requirements of this section are still subject to the requirements and prohibitions of the City Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 1 | Community Development Code: Supplement 1).
Full Breakdown
HMC 6.40.040 draws a hard line: subsection (A) prohibits anyone from causing or allowing open burning of yard debris on single or multifamily property in Hillsboro at any time of the year, with no local permit that authorizes it. Subsection (B) carves out the exceptions required by Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 340, Division 264: recreational fires (defined in HMC 6.40.020 as a combustible pile no more than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet high, used for cooking or enjoyment, or a fire in a chiminea, patio fireplace or fire pit burning charcoal, gas, propane, manufactured logs or clean dry firewood, so long as it isn't a disposal fire); barbecue equipment used with a residence; and fires a public agency sets for weed abatement, fire-hazard elimination or firefighter training. Subsection (C) makes clear that even an exempt fire still has to satisfy the City Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal.
The yard-debris ban sits alongside a separate wood-smoke rule at HMC 6.40.030: during the winter heating season (November 1 through March 1), the City passes along Washington County Department of Health and Human Services air quality advisories, cautions against fireplace and solid-fuel-device use on a "yellow day" (PM2.5 approaching 30 μg/m3), and bans operating a fireplace or solid fuel burning device outright on a "red day" (PM2.5 forecast to average 35 μg/m3 for 24 hours) unless HMC 6.40.050 exempts the household: the device is the home's sole heat source, the household qualifies as low-income, or an emergency like a power outage, gas interruption or a primary-heat failure of up to 60 days applies. The chapter's stated purpose is keeping Hillsboro compliant with the federal Clean Air Act, per HMC 6.40.010.
Violations & Fines
Burning yard debris outside the narrow recreational-fire and barbecue exceptions is a violation, and HMC 6.40.020 defines "violation" broadly to include both acts and omissions under Chapter 6.40. Enforcement runs through the City's general Municipal Code penalty at HMC 1.08.010(B), a $500.00 fine, with HMC 1.08.030 counting each day of an ongoing burn or wood-smoke violation as a separate offense. Fires that stay within an exemption are still subject to separate Fire Department and State Fire Marshal enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I burn yard waste in a burn barrel in my Hillsboro backyard?
Am I still allowed to have a fire pit or use a chiminea?
What's a 'red day' and how does it change what I can burn at home?
My furnace just broke. Can I use my wood stove during a red day advisory?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hillsboro
How Hillsboro compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Hillsboro to another location·View the Oregon fire regulations overview
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