May 11, 2021
The California Department of Forestry and Cal Fire have announced a burn suspension for outdoor burning in Sonoma County, effective immediately.
Drier conditions and the threat of another devastating wildfire has prompted the burn suspension. It includes all open burning outside including landscape debris such as branches and leaves. However, agricultural, forest management, fire training, and other industrial type burning may proceed if a CAL FIRE official has inspected the area and issued a permit in State Responsibility Areas or by the local fire chief in Local Responsibility areas. Other counties included in the order are Napa, Lake, Solano, Yolo, and Colusa.
Cal Fire has suspended all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility Areas of Alpine, Amador, El Dorado, Sacramento, and San Joaquin counties just a week after allowing homeowners to get the permits. Starting at 12:00 a.m. Monday, May 10, the ban goes into effect due to the increasing fire danger posed by dead grass, dry brush, and live vegetation combined with hotter, drier conditions in the region.
The decision bans all residential outdoor burning of landscape debris such as branches, pine needles, pine cones, and leaves.
In just the first four months of 2021, Cal Fire and firefighters across California have already responded to over 1,788 wildfires burning over 13,604 acres.