Rx Burn: Bay Area Air Quality Management District

Wildland Vegetation Management

The planned, controlled application of fire to vegetation to achieve a specific natural resource management objective(s) on land areas selected in advance of that application. The fire is conducted within the limits of a Smoke Management Plan that describes the acceptable range of weather, moisture, fuel, and fire behavior parameters to achieve the desired effects.

Visit BAAQMD, scroll to Allowed Burning.

Types of Control Burns

These specific fire types shall be regulated as Wildland Vegetation Management fires in Regulation 5:

• Includes Vegetation Management Prescribed (VPM) fires of any size, and
• Any one of the following fires that is expected to exceed 10 acres in size or burn piled vegetation cleared or generated from more than 10 acres of land:
  • Forest Management fire
  • Range Management fire
  • Crop Replacement fire to establish an agricultural crop on previously uncultivated land, that is expected to exceed 10 acres in size
  • Burn piled vegetation cleared or generated from more than 10 acres of land

Steps Required by BAAQMD

Approval from BAAQMD and coordination with local agencies:

• Contact and work with fire agency for property where the burn will occur, determine if the fire agency requires a burn permit. 
• If conducting burn during fire season (typically May 1-mid Fall) within the State Responsibility Area a burn permit from CalFire is required. CalFire: 707-967-1400.
  Determine if you are in the SRA at this website.
• Submit the Smoke Management Plan(scroll down to How to Burn) certified by a qualified professional resource ecologist, biologist, or forester to BAAQMD for approval.
• Obtain approval of the SMP from BAAQMD in writing
• Obtain permits from local fire agency and/or CalFire as required.

After approval, prior to burn day:

• Optional: up to 96 hours prior, contact BAAQMD meteorologist for a weather forecast
• REQUIRED 24 hours prior: Obtain go/no-go authorization and confidence level (high, med, low) from BAAQMB Meteorologist.

Day of burn:

• PRIOR TO IGNITION: Call BAAQMD (415) 749-4600 between 8:30am and 11:30am for acreage allocation.

Day after burn:

• Report acres burned by noon to BAAQMD (415) 749-4600.

Fees

Regulation 3, Schedule V, pg 49: (as of 6/6/2018)

• $579 for 50 acres or less
• $785 for more than 50 acres but less than or equal to 150 acres
• $1,022 for more than 150 acres

All fees paid are non-refundable.

All fees required must be paid before conducting a fire.