OAR 340-266-0080: Burning by Public Agencies (Training Fires)

In order to promote public safety through the training of firefighting personnel, open field burning on grass seed or cereal grain acreage by a fire department or rural fire protection district is subject to the following conditions: (1) Such burning must be deemed necessary by the official local fire authority having jurisdiction, and must be conducted in a manner consistent with the primary purpose of providing training to firefighting personnel, in accordance with ORS 468A.020. (2) Such burning must be limited to the minimum number of acres and occasions reasonably needed to ensure adequate firefighting personnel training. (3) Consultation with the Department of Agriculture by the fire department or rural fire protection district is required, in order to identify the appropriate atmospheric dispersion and burning conditions for optimum smoke dispersal, to protect the public from smoke impacts. (4) No training fires shall be allowed on any acreage that is in a State Fire Marshal safety buffer zone, and any training fire being considered in a critical non-burn area, Priority Area, or Problem Field, shall comply with the requirements in subsection (3) of these rules.