Pleasanton, CA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Pleasanton lies within the BAAQMD's jurisdiction, and BAAQMD Regulation 5 (Open Burning) generally prohibits open burning throughout the District, conditionally allowing only specific categories such as fire-hazard reduction, agricultural, range/forest management, and fire-training fires, and only on days designated as permissive burn days. The Air District designates each day as a burn or no-burn day based on meteorological criteria set by the California Air Resources Board, and many qualifying burns require an Air District permit or prior notification before ignition. Backyard burning of leaves, yard trimmings, and household waste is not allowed. Separately, the daily BAAQMD Spare the Air program bans recreational and wood-burning fires (Regulation 6, Rule 3) on alert days. Pleasanton adopts the California Fire Code under PMC Chapter 20.24, which requires that any permitted open burning be conducted without creating a hazard and authorizes the Livermore-Pleasanton fire code official to prohibit burning when conditions are dangerous. Because the city sits in a wildland-urban interface area, the practical answer for residents is that routine outdoor burning of vegetation or trash is prohibited; controlled vegetation-clearing burns are the exception and require BAAQMD authorization.