Moving firewood in Oregon: out-of-region ban and the five-county ash quarantine

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. Oregon has two separate sets of rules that touch firewood: a rule on firewood coming in from outside the region, and a quarantine on moving certain tree material out of five counties.

Firewood from outside the Pacific Northwest

Oregon Administrative Rule 603-052-1080, in the text reproduced by Oregon Public Law, says no person shall transport untreated firewood into Oregon from any location outside the Pacific Northwest. The rule defines the Pacific Northwest as the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. It defines firewood as whole or split pieces of wood under 48 inches long, or other wood of any species cut to a size for fuel such as home heating or campfires. Compressed wood bricks and pellets are left out, and so are logs for industrial use.

Wood from inside the region

People who cut and burn firewood in Oregon for personal use are exempt from the documentation, treatment and labeling requirements.
Firewood harvested and sold inside the Pacific Northwest does not need to be treated or labeled.
A seller may choose to use the label "Approved Pacific Northwest Firewood" on wood whose source lies wholly inside the region and outside declared quarantine areas. A seller who uses it keeps records of the sources for a minimum of one year and gives buyers the source and the seller's contact name, except the final end-use customer unless asked.
Landowners who occasionally allow or charge a fee for cutting firewood on their land for personal use are not counted as sellers.

Wood from outside the region

The rule says firewood from outside the Pacific Northwest must be heat treated to a minimum wood core temperature of 60 degrees C (140 degrees F) for at least 60 minutes, or an equivalent treatment approved by the Department. It states that air drying is insufficient. Treated wood meeting that standard may be labeled "Approved Pest Free". Sellers of that wood keep records of the source, the treatment method and the volume treated for at least two years from the date of treatment, and an official phytosanitary certificate may be used to show the method and volumes. Officials may inspect those records and the treatment and storage facilities on request. Using the "Approved Pest Free" label fraudulently is subject to civil penalties.

Penalties in the rule

The rule says violators are subject to civil penalties of up to US$10,000 under ORS 561.995, with the schedule in OAR 603-054-0070. It says wood shipped in violation may be treated, destroyed or returned to the point of origin without expense or indemnity paid by the state, and that penalties collected go into the Invasive Species Control Account.

The permanent emerald ash borer quarantine

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) emerald ash borer page says a permanent quarantine, adopted as OAR 603-052-1075, prohibits material from all plant parts of ash (Fraxinus), white fringe (Chionanthus) and olive (Olea) trees from moving outside Washington, Yamhill, Marion, Clackamas and Multnomah counties. The page lists logs, green lumber, nursery stock, scion wood, root stock, chips, mulch, stumps, roots, branches and firewood of any hardwood species. It says exceptions to move nursery stock and wood of the restricted species out of the quarantine area require a compliance agreement with ODA, and that the agency is setting up processing and disposal sites inside the area.

The ODA quarantine alert flyer adds detail.

It says the quarantine applies to federal, state, commercial and private land in the five counties.
Material not covered: seeds and leaves, kiln dried processed lumber free of bark and of material 1 inch below the bark, finished wood products without bark such as furniture, baskets and baseball bats, and nurseries or groups with a formal compliance agreement.
Treatment options listed for regulated wood: debark and remove at least 1 inch of the wood underneath, grind or chip to 1 inch or less, heat to a minimum of 160 degrees F for at least 60 minutes, bury under at least 12 inches of topsoil, incinerate, secondary processing into by-products such as paper, or other methods in a compliance agreement.
Live plants are eligible for compliance agreements if the base diameter is under 0.75 inches, they were grown in an ODA approved screenhouse, or they were treated with an approved insecticide.
Two seasons are set out. From April 1 to September 30 the flyer asks that felling of ash, olive and white fringe, including branches and stumps, be avoided, that hazardous trees can be mitigated at any time, and that material be chipped or processed on site as soon as possible. From October 1 to March 31 it names removal and pruning as the time for that work, with material taken to a facility inside the quarantine zone and processed before April 1.

How it differs from Washington

Oregon's rule treats Oregon, Washington and Idaho as one region. The Washington rule that took effect on August 18, 2026 applies to firewood from any location outside Washington. The two are set out on the page for moving firewood in Washington.

For other states and provinces see the table on moving wood and firewood.