Tree waste rules in Oregon: open burning prohibitions, banned materials, debris moved off site and letter permits

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows rules 340-264-0040, 0050, 0060, 0070 and 0180 of the Oregon Administrative Rules as published by Public.Law, whose pages show the rule text as taken from the Oregon Secretary of State site with an access date of May 26, 2025. The county rules in 340-264-0100 to 0175 were not read for this page, so burning allowed or barred in a particular county is for that county's rule.

Who is responsible

According to rule 340-264-0060, three groups of people are strictly liable for open burning that breaks the rule: each person who owns, controls or has custody of the land where it happens, including a tenant; each person who owns, controls or has custody of the material burned; and anyone who causes or allows the burning to start or continue. Rule 0050 adds that a responsible person, or an expressly authorized agent, must constantly attend all open burning, must be able and equipped to put it out, and must put it out completely before leaving.

What may not be burned

Rule 0060 sets these general prohibitions for the whole state.

Open burning that creates a nuisance or a hazard to public safety.
Open burning of wet garbage, plastic, asbestos, wire insulation, automobile parts, asphalt, petroleum products, petroleum treated material, rubber products, animal remains, food handling waste, or any other material that normally gives off dense smoke or noxious odors.
Burning on any day or at any time DEQ has told the State Fire Marshal that burning is prohibited because of weather or air quality.
Burning at hours other than those DEQ sets, and burning at a solid waste disposal site without a solid waste permit.
Burning of debris removed from the property of origin unless the person has a letter permit under rule 0180. The rule says no letter permit is needed for agricultural waste removed from the property of origin if it stays under the control of the same responsible person.

Beyond that, the text of rule 0050 sets habits for efficient burning: combustible material dried as far as practicable, loosely stacked or windrowed to leave out dirt and rocks, and pile restacked or fed so smoldering is prevented. It says burning that follows the division does not free anyone from civil or criminal liability for damage, or from any other law, ordinance or rule.

When DEQ bars all burning

According to rule 340-264-0070, DEQ tells the State Fire Marshal that all open burning is prohibited in all or part of the state when it declares a particulate or sulfur dioxide alert or warning, or an emergency for any air contaminant. It may also bar or limit burning for an air stagnation event, a poor ventilation finding, or expected rain when regulating yard debris burning in urban areas. The rule gives numbers for the Willamette Valley and Umpqua Basin burn control areas, where a daily maximum ventilation index under 200 qualifies, and for the Rogue Basin, where under 400 qualifies. Unless barred or limited, open burning is allowed only in daylight and must follow the other rules of the division and local and State Fire Marshal rules.

Exemptions and letter permits

Rule 0040 says the division does not apply, apart from rules 0050 and 0060, to recreational and ceremonial fires, residential barbecue equipment, fires set or permitted by a public agency for weed abatement, fire hazard or firefighter instruction, agricultural open burning, slash burning on forest land under the Department of Forestry smoke management program, and burning for disease or pest control set or authorized in writing by the Department of Agriculture.

According to rule 340-264-0180, open burning of commercial, industrial, slash, construction or demolition waste on a single or infrequent basis, or of yard debris that is otherwise prohibited, may be allowed by a DEQ letter permit. The written application covers the kind and amount of material, all alternative disposal methods and their costs, the time the burn will take, how complete burning will be assured, the site, a diagram of nearby structures with distances, and how often similar burning will be needed. DEQ may approve only if the applicant has shown that all reasonable alternatives were explored and none is practicable, and that the burn will not cause or add to significant degradation of air quality.

In Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah and Washington counties, where open burning is otherwise barred, the rule limits letter permits to emergency material such as flood, storm or oil spill debris, yard debris collected and stored by governments with no other reasonable disposal, and yard debris from a private residence where not burning causes a hardship. The hardship grounds are cost, a physical limitation, or ground so steep or remote that equipment cannot reasonably reach the debris. Grass clippings and leaf piles are excluded.

For other places see the table on tree waste and chip rules. Washington State has its own page: tree waste rules in Washington. Rules for moving wood are on moving wood in Oregon.