Oregon Statutes 478.960 – Burning of certain materials permitted only with permission of fire chief; damage or injury; burning schedules and restrictions
(1) No one, within the boundaries of a district, shall cause or permit to be initiated or maintained on one’s own property, or cause to be initiated or maintained on the property of another, any open burning of commercial waste, demolition material, domestic waste, industrial waste, land clearing debris or field burning without first securing permission from the fire chief of the district and complying with the direction of the fire chief. A deputy of a fire chief has the power to perform any act or duty of the fire chief under this section.
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 478.960
- Commercial waste: means any waste produced in any business involving the lease or sale, including wholesale and retail, of goods or services, including but not limited to housing, and means any waste produced by a governmental, educational or charitable institution; however, it does not include any waste produced in a dwelling containing four living units or less. See Oregon Statutes 478.001
- Demolition material: means any waste resulting from the complete or partial destruction of any man-made structure such as a house, apartment, commercial building or industrial building. See Oregon Statutes 478.001
- District: means a rural fire protection district proposed to be organized or organized under, or subject to, this chapter. See Oregon Statutes 478.001
- Domestic waste: means any nonputrescible waste, consisting of combustible materials, such as paper, cardboard, yard clippings, wood, or similar materials, generated in a dwelling, including the real property upon which it is situated, containing four living units or less. See Oregon Statutes 478.001
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Field burning: means the burning of any grass field, grain field, pasture, rangeland or other field by open burning or by use of mobile equipment or flaming equipment on any land or vegetation. See Oregon Statutes 478.001
- Industrial waste: means any waste resulting from any process or activity of manufacturing or construction. See Oregon Statutes 478.001
- Land clearing debris: means any waste generated by the removal of debris, logs, trees, brush or demolition material from any site in preparation for land improvement or construction projects. See Oregon Statutes 478.001
- Open burning: means any burning conducted in such a manner that combustion air is not effectively controlled and that combustion products are not vented through a stack or chimney, including but not limited to burning conducted in open outdoor fires, common burn barrels and backyard incinerators. See Oregon Statutes 478.001
- Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
(2) The fire chief shall prescribe conditions upon which permission is granted and which are necessary to be observed in setting the fire and preventing it from spreading and endangering life or property or endangering the air resources of this state. The Environmental Quality Commission shall notify the State Fire Marshal of the type of and time for burning to be allowed on each day under schedules adopted pursuant to ORS § 468A.570 and ORS § 468A.595. The State Fire Marshal shall cause all fire chiefs and their deputies in the affected area to be notified of the type and time for burning to be allowed on each day with updating messages each day as required. A fire chief or deputy shall grant permission only in accordance with the schedule of the Environmental Quality Commission but may reduce hours to be allowed for burning if necessary to prevent danger to life or property from fire. The State Fire Marshal may refuse, revoke or postpone permission when necessary in the judgment of the State Fire Marshal to prevent danger to life or property from fire, notwithstanding any determination by the fire chief.
(3) Nothing in this section relieves a person starting a fire from responsibility for providing adequate protection to prevent injury or damage to the person or property of another. If such burning results in the escape of fire and injury or damage to the person or property of another, such escape and damage or injury constitutes prima facie evidence that the burning was not safe.
(4) Within a district, no person shall, during the fire season declared under ORS § 477.505, operate any equipment in forest harvesting or agricultural operations powered by an internal combustion engine on or within one-eighth of one mile of forestland unless each piece of equipment is provided with a fire extinguisher of sufficient size and capacity and with such other tools and fire-fighting equipment as may be reasonably required by the fire chief of the district. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to machinery regulated by ORS Chapter 477.
(5) No person shall dispose of any building or building wreckage within a district by fire without having first secured permission therefor from the fire chief. No person shall refuse to comply with any reasonable requirements of the fire chief as to the safeguarding of such fire from spreading.
(6) This section is not intended to limit the authority of a district to adopt a fire prevention code as provided in ORS § 478.910 to 478.940 or to issue permits when the burning is done by mechanical burners fired by liquefied petroleum gas.
(7) The fire chief shall maintain records of all permits and the conditions thereof, if any, that are issued for field burning under this section and shall submit at such times, as the Environmental Quality Commission shall require such records or summaries thereof to the commission. The Environmental Quality Commission shall provide forms for the reports required under this subsection.
(8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section:
(a) A permit is required for field burning authorized pursuant to ORS § 468A.550 to 468A.620 and 468A.992.
(b) For a permit for the propane flaming of mint stubble, the fire chief may only prescribe conditions necessary to prevent the spread of fire or to prevent endangering life or property and may refuse, revoke or postpone permission to conduct the propane flaming only when necessary to prevent danger to life or property from fire. [1955 c.469 1,2; 1959 c.363 § 16; 1967 c.420 § 1; 1967 c.438 § 1; 1969 c.613 § 3; 1969 c.667 § 57; 1971 c.563 § 9; 1973 c.832 § 7b; 1975 c.635 § 4; 1979 c.321 § 1; 1989 c.615 § 2; 1991 c.920 § 22; 1997 c.274 § 40; 1997 c.473 § 6; 2009 c.790 § 2]