Stanislaus County, CA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

There is no Stanislaus County ordinance that authorizes routine residential backyard burning; outdoor burning is governed primarily by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) under District Rule 4103 (Open Burning) and by CAL FIRE in State Responsibility Areas. The SJVAPCD states plainly that "the open burning of garbage, household trash, or yard debris is strictly prohibited, as are burn barrels and other outdoor fires." The District does issue agricultural burn permits for specific vegetative agricultural wastes; each burn is authorized on a daily basis only when there is enough air movement to disperse smoke, and a 2021 schedule phased out open burning for most remaining waste types by 2025. Permitted weed-abatement burning is limited to narrow agricultural contexts and transporting debris to another location to burn is prohibited. In the eastern foothills of Stanislaus County, which lie in the CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area, CAL FIRE issues and can suspend residential burn permits; during high fire danger CAL FIRE has suspended residential landscape-debris burning in eastern Stanislaus County. Residents are directed to chip or haul green waste instead. Illegal burning in Merced, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties can be reported to the Valley Air District at (800) 281-7003.