Santa Barbara County, CA Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Two agencies govern outdoor burning in unincorporated Santa Barbara County: the Air Pollution Control District (APCD) for air quality and the County Fire Department for fire safety and permits. The APCD's open-burning rules state that burning waste of any kind in an open fire is prohibited, with only two exceptions: disposal of waste from commercial agricultural operations under strict conditions, and backyard burning of plant trimmings and leaves in specific areas by permit and under strict conditions. Outdoor residential waste burning (trash, garbage, construction debris) is not allowed anywhere in the APCD. County Fire issues several permit categories: Agricultural Burning, Fire Hazard Reduction Burning (cuttings from trees, vines, or bushes cut to reduce fire hazard, restricted to high and very high fire hazard severity zones), and Residential Dry Vegetation (Backyard) Burning for homeowners at one- and two-family dwellings, who may burn adequately dried leaves, weeds, grass clippings, shrubbery, and tree prunings in the Northern Zone only (excluding Solvang, Santa Maria, and Lompoc), on permissive burn days in February, May, August, and November only. All burning requires a 'Low Fire Season Preparedness Level' set by weather and fuel moisture; burning is not allowed on Sundays or holidays; and in the Santa Ynez Valley burning may start no earlier than 10:00 a.m. Permits are obtained from your local fire station, and a burn is only legal on days designated by the California Air Resources Board as Permissive Burn Days.