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

Two agencies regulate open burning in unincorporated Tehama County. The Tehama County Air Pollution Control District (TCAPCD) controls what and when you can burn for air quality, and CAL FIRE / Tehama County Fire controls fire-safety permitting during fire season. Per TCAPCD rules, residential/dooryard burning is allowed only on permissive burn days, which are announced daily; residents may burn only natural vegetation grown on the property (paper and cardboard are excluded from being transported in). 'Residential waste' does not include garbage, cloth, petroleum products, plastics, any material soiled by food or fecal matter, or construction/demolition debris. Burn hours in unincorporated/State Responsibility areas are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during non-fire season (the Capay Fire District uses 8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. year-round, and the City of Red Bluff prohibits residential burning entirely). Burn barrels and incinerators are banned except in ZIP codes 96029, 96061, and 96076. Material must be dry, free of dirt, and loosely stacked to minimize smoke, and no burning may occur when smoke would create a nuisance for neighboring residences. During declared fire season, CAL FIRE requires a free LE-62 residential dooryard burn permit (available at burnpermit.fire.ca.gov); agricultural burning requires both a TCAPCD agricultural permit and a CAL FIRE LE-5 permit. Check burn-day status at 530-527-3717.