Outdoor burning rules in Sonoma, CA — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Open burning of yard waste, brush, leaves, or trash is prohibited inside the City of Sonoma. The city is a Local Responsibility Area (LRA) where Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) rules and SVFD policy disallow residential vegetation pile burning; burn permits are only issued for unincorporated/State Responsibility Area (SRA) properties.
The City of Sonoma sits in the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Under BAAQMD Regulation 5 (Open Burning), open burning of leaves, garden debris, prunings, and household waste is prohibited in Sonoma's LRA. Agricultural burning of dry prunings or vines may be allowed on permissive burn days only with a BAAQMD agricultural burn permit and only outside city limits. CAL FIRE burn permits are required for any open burning in the State Responsibility Area but are not issued for properties inside the City of Sonoma. Recreational fires under California Fire Code §307.4.2 (max 3 ft diameter, 2 ft height, 25 ft from structures) are still allowed; cooking fires using charcoal or gas grills are also exempt. Permissive burn day status (where allowed at all) is announced daily by BAAQMD at 1-800-792-0787, and burning before 10 a.m. or within 2 hours of sunset is prohibited.
Illegal open burning inside city limits is a violation of BAAQMD Regulation 5, punishable by administrative civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation per day under Cal. Health & Safety Code §42402. Local enforcement by SVFD can also charge response/suppression costs to the responsible party under Cal. Health & Safety Code §13009. Sonoma Municipal Code §1.20.010 fines apply for local code violations ($100/$200/$500 escalating).
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